Koh Samui, Thailand weekly weather update; 17th December – 23rd December 2018

Koh Samui, Thailand weekly weather update; 17^th December – 23^rd December 2018 

Sunday morning again and time for the Koh Samui, Thailand weekly weather update; 17th December – 23rd December 2018. This time originating from Surat Thani city. Busy weekends this month so far!

It's blue skies and sunny around Koh Samui with a current temperature of 32C at 10.30am. The rainy season is behind us now. Enjoy the sun and crazy hot temperatures for December!

In Surat Thani it is very similar to Koh Samui. Blue skies and in the lower thirties Celsius.

This morning I ran my last race of the year at Central Plaza in Surat Thani and placed 5th in my age category 50-59 years. Later today we're heading back home again to Koh Samui.

Koh Samui, Thailand weekly weather update; 17th December – 23rd December 2018; Just outside Nathon with a nice view over to Koh Phangan

Last week the weather on Koh Samui turned from monsoon and rain into dry and sunny with blue skies! As of Thursday, the day after I got back from Phuket, the weather changed for the better. Maximum temperatures ranged from 26C to 33C and minimum temperature 24C. Occasionally there was some strong wind.

Koh Samui, Thailand weekly weather update; 17th December – 23rd December 2018; Earlier this week I was still on Phuket. For the first time I was able to visit the new Central Floresta. This brand new shopping department is opposite the Central Festival and they are connected by a walking bridge

The forecast for next week is looking good. Tomorrow it will still be very sunny. Tuesday and Wednesday more cloudy with possibly some rain. The rest of  next week and the coming weekend should be cloudy but dry. Enjoy this nice weather at the end of the year!

Koh Samui, Thailand weekly weather update; 17th December – 23rd December 2018; Yesterday a very popular Thai girl band played in Central Plaza in Surat Thani; BNK 48. It was packed to the rafters. The crowd went crazy over 40 minutes of entertainment.

Please do 'like' my Koh Samui blog Facebook page and enjoy the beaches around the island or in front of your hotel or resort and get some well deserved rest and a break. 

If you're done resting or need something else to do, there's plenty of things on offer on and around Koh Samui, you can go snorkeling or diving or take a dive course. 

You can also enjoy some of the trips I recommend, like a half day gourmet lunch and snorkeling trip at the Southern part of Koh Samui or a photography trip where you get to see the most photo genetic spots on the island or go for a drinks tasting tour if you like a tipple or two. 

You may also opt for a very special dinner experience at The Thai Experience. Behind closed doors, reservation only and a very enjoyable and well worthwhile way of spending an evening on Samui. Authentic Thai food and a great atmosphere. Can highly recommend this experience.

Contact me for more detailed information on any of the options mentioned. 

If you like to donate to this blog, use this secure link PayPal.Me/CamilleLemmens. 

Camille

Blue Paradise Festival at Phru Chaweng, 17th May 2015

It's time again for the now almost yearly Blue Paradise Festival at Phru Chaweng, 17th May 2015 this year! From 5pm until Midnight, there will be activities for young and old.

'Free concerts & free rides' organized by Bangkok Airways.

It's a good evening out with food and drinks but also with games and rides for the young(er) ones, like Slider, Ferris Wheel, Ice Mountain and Kids Boats and a free concert with some well known Thai bands like; J Jetrin, Aof Pongsak, Potato, Lipta, The Richman Toy and Yaya Urassaya.

Food will be offered by many Samui restaurants and/or hotels. Our family enjoys this day or rather evening each year and you're bound to meet plenty of other people and your friends there.

Keep an eye on the date; Sunday 17th May!

Don't forget to use my Camille's Samui hotel recommendation blog and my Camille's Thailand hotel recommendation blog for all your hotel bookings on Koh Samui and around Thailand. By doing so, you will support my blog. Thanks folks! 

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 18th November, 2014

Today's weather;

It's mostly cloudy over Koh Samui with an occasional blue spot in the sky. The wind has picked up a bit and it might rain later today. Current temp at 7am is 25C

In the meantime back in Khao Lak we have a nice blue sky with a thin cloud layer. Current temp at 7am is 23.2C

Fisherman's Village with Blue Vanilla on the left side in the blue building and on the opposite side of the road Juzz'a Pizza

Yesterday saw a fairly cloudy day with some rain around Samui and a heavy storm like shower early in the morning. Max temp reached 31C

In Khao Lak we had mostly a sunny day with the daily short but this time heavy shower around 3pm. Max temp reached 33.2C

A good dozen children playing music, mainly guitar and banjo, opposite the Ban Bang Niang market near Khao Lak

The forecast for the next seven days is a typical monsoon forecast with heavy to milder cloud layers each day and some rain.

Don't forget to use my Camille's Samui hotel recommendation blog and my Camille's Thailand hotel recommendation blog for all your hotel bookings on Koh Samui and around Thailand. By doing so, you will support my blog. Thanks folks! 

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 25th March, 2014

Today's weather;

It's nice and sunny on Koh Samui this morning and promises to be a hot day. Current temp at 7am is 28.2C

On Phuket the sky is partly cloudy and I'm on a boat for today and tomorrow for some diving. It has been 15 years since I dived the sites that we're going today. Current temp at 7am is 25C

Yesterday evening I spotted this Elvis mobile on Kata beach road on Phuket with a Thai Elvis and Neil Diamond (with the white hat in the picture). I love the piano keyboard painted on top of the truck and the guy inside playing a guitar which is amplified into the pub where Elvis performs

Yesterday saw a very warm day around around Samui with a bunch of power cuts during the day and night. Max temp reached 33C

The forecast is looking very good for the next 7 days, sunny and warm days are ahead of us.

Don't forget to use my Camille's Samui hotel recommendation blog and my Camille's Thailand hotel recommendation blog for all your hotel bookings on Koh Samui and around Thailand. By doing so, you will support my blog. Thanks folks!

Camille

Samui Latin and Jazz week, 29th Sept - 6th Oct. 2013

It's time to get smokin' again with some cool Latin and Jazz tunes. Hipcats united, it's time to visit Samui between 29th September and 6th October 2013.

Samui Latin and Jazz week 2013

The schedule is shaping up and you expect Latin American rhythms with electrifying percussion – this music will make you dance! Dina Medina from Cape Verde, Nando Vanin from Columbia, Amik Guerra  from Cuba and Nils Fischer with Cabo Cuba Jazz are just a few of the names who will bring the ‘Latin Fever’ to Koh Samui.

Uplifting, energetic & danceable Latin music, combined with relaxed Jazz tunes and big voices: Taking on the stage from the US is Deborah Brown, one of the finest jazz vocalists in the business, who will enchant the audience as she sings from the American Songbook with classics of Duke Ellington, George Gershwin and more.

Pure virtuosity, Saskia Laroo, a dutch jazz musician who has long been dubbed ‘Lady Miles Davis’, will perform with her Quartet ‘Jazzkia’ a perfect fusion of jazz, funk and dance – a truly unique and fun listening experience.

Add to all of this the world class jazz act Peter Beets, presenting his newly released album ‘Portrait of Peterson’ and you can be sure this music festival will be one to remember.

Also coming: Nadia Basurto and Miquel Rodriques  from Spain, the dutch singer Judith Nijland , Rolf Delfos from the Netherlands, the french pianist and singer Fabio Deldongo, Thailand’s Saxophone Star Koh Mr. Saxman and Changton with the beautiful singer Buntita.

8 days of world class music, 8 days of tropical lifestyle, exquisite cuisine and stunning venues – it's time to start planning!

Don't forget to use my Camille's Samui hotel recommendation blog and my Camille's Thailand hotel recommendation blog for all your hotel bookings on Koh Samui and around Thailand. By doing so, you will support my blog. Thanks folks!

Camille

Blue Paradise Fest, Chaweng Lake, the event

Yesterday around 6pm we arrived at the Blue Paradise Fest at Chaweng Lake with the family to enjoy a couple of hours of entertainment, sponsored by Bangkok Airways to celebrate the 24th anniversary of Samui Airport.

The entrance

It was very well organized and there were only two entrance areas with good security checks. So early on it wasn't too busy but there were already enough people out and about. By the time we left  somewhere after 8pm there were still plenty of people going towards the lake.

There was also plenty of food, among others from members of the THA (Thai Hotel Association)

We first checked out the children's playground or Fun Park which had a few attractions like a wheel, a bungee and a fun castle for kids. Shortly after that we went to check out the food selection since we all were hungry!

View towards the stage

The entrance was fee and a nice line up of Thai 'Superstars' were scheduled to perform. We saw Catherine English and the second act whose name I don't know, the shows went on until 1am and included Mario Maurer, who is world famous in Thailand!

Entrance to the fun park

During our first visit to the Fun Park there weren't many queues but shortly before we went home there were queues in front of all attractions. In general it was a lot busier by then.

The wheel at the Fun Park

Some bungee variation which seemed to be very popular with young and old

Fancy a beer anyone?

It seemed like everybody had a good time and it was nicely busy, at least 5.000 people showed up I would imagine. Now if Bangkok Airways would spend this kind of money on the 4th edition of the Samui Marathon, I would be very happy but unfortunately this event has been skipped from their agenda.

Don't forget to use my Camille's Samui hotel recommendation blog and my Camille's Thailand hotel recommendation blog for all your hotel bookings on Koh Samui and around Thailand. By doing so, you will support my blog. Thanks folks!

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 18th May, 2013

Today's weather;

This morning still sees a lot of blue in Samui skies but there are also a few clouds now out and about. Current temp at 7am is 27.6C

Sunset at the Blue Paradise fest yesterday at Chaweng Lake to celebrate the 24th anniversary of the Samui airport

Yesterday saw another warm day around the island although there was more cloudcover during the daytime and in the evening. Max temp still reached 34.4C

The forecast shows chance of clouds and maybe, if you're lucky, you can experience a tropical shower. Such a shower will cool things down a bit and give much needed water to the plants around the island.

Don't forget to use my Camille's Samui hotel recommendation blog and my Camille's Thailand hotel recommendation blog for all your hotel bookings on Koh Samui and around Thailand. By doing so, you will support my blog. Thanks folks!

Camille

Blue Paradise fest, 17th May, Chaweng Lake

This coming Friday, 17th May there will be a free festival with plenty of musical 'Thai Superstars', among others, Mario Maurer, food is supplied by the Thai Hotel Association, Koh Samui Chapter.

The free festival is to celebrate the 24th Anniversary of the Samui airport, which is owned and operated by Bangkok Airways. It promises to be a busy night, so see you there! Deal?! 

Don't forget to use my Camille's Samui hotel recommendation blog and my Camille's Thailand hotel recommendation blog for all your hotel bookings on Koh Samui and around Thailand. By doing so, you will support my blog. Thanks folks!

Camille

Re-earth Festival 22-23 February 2013

The Re:earth project and festival in Thailand is a close co-operation between a group of Swedish friends in the music-, media- and travel industry and the local Thai community on Koh Samui. The aim is to spread awareness and find positive ways and solutions to reverse environmental damage - and have fun at the same time!

If I'm correct this is the 3rd festival that's being organized and it looks like an action packed two days with lots of music.

The festival poster

Line up:

JUNGLE (MAIN) STAGE 

MOVITS, MONEYBROTHER, LAZEE, CHORDS, GNUČČI, ROBERT DINERO (MASH UP INTERNATIONAL), TINGSEK, ZACKE, EMILY ELBERT, HÅLL KÄFTEN OCH DANSA, DJ BLACK MOOSE, DJ DAINJA & CREW

BEACH STAGE

DJ DAINJA & CREW (COLORS – SE), SMOKY VAHID (SE), PATRIK JEAN (SE), UNDERGROUND MILITIA (SE), DANIEL IRK (SE), SMOKY VAHID (SE), HOOD PRISMS (US), BOGL (US), PETEY CLICKS (US), ROBERT DINERO (MASH UP INTERNATIONAL), SAVAGE SKULLS (SE), UGGLE NATTEN CREW  (SE), SNAFU (SE)

ELECTRONIC STAGE

NAKADIA (BERLIN/CLARISSE RECORDS – TH), MARCO LOCO – (IBIZA GROOVE – ES) , TOBY HOLGUIN (BORA BORA IBIZA- CO) , NAQ I FREAK DA RHYTME (FUSION CLUB –BE), DARRAGH CASEY (LOI LAY FLOATING BOAT – IE) , ALEX MARTIN (QUINTE CLUB – MY), LADY OH (JUNGLE EXPERIENCE – TH), DANNY NATION (MAYA CLUB – UK), ZIDOV AKUMA (SOUND CLUB – HR) , NOKI NOCHIKHO (SOUND CLUB – TH), TOM (FUSION CLUB – TH), FRED AKIR (SE), DIRTBAG (SE), ESTATED (SE), DAMIEN EIE (SE), DANIEL ALPHA (SE), AON (FULL MOON-TH), PABLO ESCOBUD (UK).. WITH MC ESSENCE (CA)

DEEJAY SETS FROM 2PM TO MORNING

PRESALE FROM 900 THB, 2000 THB AT THE DOOR.

All acts combined

DAYTIME ISLAND & BEACH PARTY SATURDAY 23 FEB! A short boat ride from the Reearth beach deejays from the festival are showing off some of their favorite inspirational tracks in a secluded tropical environment. Get to know your favorite artists by their musical influences, every musician has a history of tracks to tell about. This is also an excellent way to balance your experience of the the 48 hour party and reload your batteries! Local food is served for lunch, bar and deejay sets all day.

Limited number of tickets, pre-sale on web.

Price: 1200 THB per person. Including return boat ride, lunch, 2 x drink tickets. Boats all day from 12.30 and last boat back to Reearth 18.30.

LINE UP: MÅNS OF SAVAGE SKULLS (SE), ROBERT DINERO OF MASH UP INTERNATIONAL (SE),HÅLL KÄFTEN OCH DANSA (SE), SMOKY VAHID (SE), MAJA OF UGGLENATTEN (SE)

How to get there

Now three and half years after the launch of the Re:earth project the festival attracts artists from many different countries including Thai, UK, Belgium, Colombia, US and Scandinavia.

Both days of the festival starts with daytime activities in the beach area accompanied by chilled out sets played by our deejays. Each evening culminates in live acts performing and then the deejays will take over again to keep the crowds moving until the sun rises.

The ultimate goal with the festival and its local partners is to make Koh Samui the “Green Island” of South East Asia and the Re:earth festival a sustainable long term event on Koh Samui.


One small step can lead to big change! Join the Re:earth festival if you would like to make a difference and give something back as a traveler!

The Re:earth festival and its partners are taking an active role in the efforts to restore, rehabilitate, protect and preserve the natural environment. The Re:earth festival wants to increase the awareness and promote a better understanding that environmental conservation can be undertaken hand-in-hand with travel.

Locally at Koh Samui and its neighboring islands, the main concern is the lack of sufficient drinking water during tourist seasons, deteriorating coral reefs and floods due to erosion caused by increased development.

Last festival saw 3000-4000 people per day at the venue, 50% Scandinavians but also plenty of Aussies, Thai and other nationalities. We expect more nationalities in Feb 2013. Spread the word!
The festival is held daytime as well as nighttime.

Don't forget to use my Camille's Samui hotel recommendation blog and my Camille's Thailand hotel recommendation blog for all your hotel bookings on Koh Samui and around Thailand. By doing so, you will support my blog. Thanks folks!

Camille

Upcoming events in 2013

As already mentioned in an earlier post today, the THA or Thai Hotel Association Samui chapter is going to be busy next year, either organizing or-co-organizing a lot of events next year! Here's a tentative schedule of events coming up;

Re:earth Festival, from Fri-Sat 22-23 February 2013 

29th March will see the 1st Koh Samui Midnight Run

April 21st will see the Samui Triathlon

During May another Cancer care Charity fun run in Nathon will be held, date to be announced

Samui Regatta May 25th - June 1st 2013

During July the first edition of the Samui Coconut festival will be held, dates to be announced

August will see the Queen's Cup Golf Tournament, dates to be announced

September will be busy;

Samui Jazz Festival, dates to be announced

2nd Samui Hill Challenge, 8th September

Princess Cup, Samui Island Marathon, date to be announced

First Off Road triathlon on Koh Samui 11 and 12 October (first off road triathlon in Thailand)

December 14th will see a soap box race

Lots of activities and events! Hope to see you there next year!!!!

Don't forget to use my Camille's Samui hotel recommendation blog and my Camille's Thailand hotel recommendation blog for all your hotel bookings on Koh Samui and around Thailand. By doing so, you will support my blog. Thanks folks!

Camille

Samui International Jazz Festival 2012, 14-20 October

In two months time Samui goes Jazz again and the third edition of the Samui International Jazz Festival opens it's doors at the Amari Palm Reef in Chaweng.

The festival is dedicated to the theme of Tropical Jazz and the locations for the various concerts have been especially identified to enhance the tropical feel with guests and performers, which we hope will manage to be both upbeat and laid-back at the same time.

This years line up includes Paulette McWilliamsm check her out during a free show at the main stage at Chaweng Beach, 20th October.

Susan Harmer and her band Tropic Green is on a repeat visit, CaboCubaJazz, featuring Melissa Fortes and Yerman Aponte, Karen Devroop Jazz Quartet and Eddie C will all feature.

The currennt line up, times and venues are;

14th Oct. at Amari Palm Reef Samui
On Stage Interview with Paulette McWilliams
Preview Concert: Beets Brothers feat. Paulette Mc Williams
Concert: Susan Harmer - Tropic Green

15th Oct. at Rocky’s Boutique Resort
Concert: Eddie C

16th Oct. at The Library
Concert: Karen Devroop Quintet

17th Oct. at Nora Buri Resort & Spa
Concert: CaboCubaJazz

18 Oct. at Anantara Bophut
Concert: Alexander Beets Quartet feat. Dasha

( Concert ticket 500 THB/ Person)

Main Stage at Chaweng Beach - Beachfront Amari Palm Reef

19/20 October:
Two days of ten FREE concerts

Highlights:
• Koh Saxman meets Beets Brothers - Tribute to the King
• Beets Brothers feat. Paulette McWilliams
• Peter Beets Trio
• Changton Kunjara & Friends

Keep your agenda open for these shows and I hope you will enjoy the performances by the artists.

Camille

Snow Patrol, live in Manila at the Araneta Coliseum

Believe it or not, I had never heard of the band! However, one of my old friend from my music industry days is now a big promoter in the region here and he often times has shows on in places like Bangkok, Singapore, Jakarta or Manila. Although we haven't met in over 20 years, we still stayed in touch through Facebook and he saw that I was making my way up from Subic after my dive adventures on the side mount course and he invited me to come and see the show last night, with the red carpet laid out all the way, back stages passes et all were waiting for me!

Snow Patrol during their show

The venue, the Araneta Coliseum is probably best known for the 'Thrilla in Manila' the last out of 3 fights between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, which took place 1st October, 1975.

A poster advertising the show

Due to the recent flood problems in and around of Manila, it wasn't clear how much the show would be affected, the Smashing Pumkins only had 2.500 people during their show on the height of the floods at the same, 9.000 capacity venue just two days ago. There were 5.000 expected due to the circumstances for this show.

The crowd and the stage, picture by Kris Rocha, the pro version

It turned out even better and around 6.000 people came to see the show. It was also a good show. The band has catchy songs and besides their hit 'Chasing Cars' they had a couple of other real good songs in their repertoire. I enjoyed the show and the band! Internet in my hotel is really slow, I made a vdo of Chasing Cars but can't upload it in my hotel, I will add this vdo somewhere over the weekend and add it to this post, so stay tuned.

My not so pro version of the crowd, taken from next to the stage, 'stage right'!

All Acces

Chasing Cars

Thanks Wim, it will be good of we meet next time a bit earlier than another 20 year wait!

Don't forget to use my Camille's Samui hotel recommendation blog and my Camille's Thailand hotel recommendation blog for all your hotel bookings on Koh Samui and around Thailand. By doing so, you will support my blog. Thanks folks!

Camille

Pong Lang Sa On at the Wat Plai Laem Temple fair

Pong Lang Sa On at the Wat Plai Laem Temple fair

Last night saw an unexpected but pleasant surprise that kept a few people awake near the Wat Plai Laem Temple fair. The band Pong Lan Sai On played at the fair and this is a band that was extremely popular some 4 years ago and the possibility to watch them perform live was something I didn't want to miss out on.

Bandleader Ead with part of the band and a local boy on stage

The band has a remarkable story and their career took off after they won a talent contest on TV. Their first album was an immense success and now they're a household name in Thailand. In 2007 and 2008 they extensively toured the USA and Europe on the back of their album.

On Samui they had a great show that lasted for closing in on 3 hours and they had an excellent PA system. It was loud though for the surrounding houses and a few people might have had problems sleeping.

Lulu and Lala, the female singers of the band and a bundle of ebergy!

We sat through two female support singers, first Asia followed by Ying Titikarn before the band came on around 11pm. It's not a concert the way we may know it in the West. The first hour or so was just the band with various singers singing songs, before Ead, the main man of the band come on and after 45 minutes or so he was joined by the two female Lula and Lala. The show lasted until around 1.30am.

The 'khen' instrument played by one of the band members

Another thing that is very different to 'Western style' concerts is that the show is stopped in-between songs and the band goes into comedy routines which has the audience in stitches. A lot of Thai is not needed to understand some of the jokes since they're fairly vivid and simple. Ead and his band had an excellent show and I thoroughly enjoyed the performance of the him, Lula and Lala, the band and the dancers plus various other people that took part in the show, including the stage hands!

The bass player, check out the cool shape of the instrument

As a very unexpected bonus they played a Cardigans song (in my head)! I've seen this only once before, when Sek Loso started to play some Hendrix tunes as an encore, slightly confusing the majority of the audience. This cover however, went down very well, although it was interrupted once more for some comedy.

Stage view

The production of the show was excellent, as already mentioned, an excellent PA system was used and besides a 10 man band, there was Aed, Lula and Lala, up to 10 dancers, various other singers, male and female and they even had people participating in their comedy acts who pretended to be part of the audience. All in all an excellent show and evening was had!

To finish this up, here's a song by Pong Lan Sa On, one of their hits. Enjoy and don't miss out on them if they play your neighborhood.

Camille

Controversy in Thai society because of a sexually explicit video

Controversy in Thai society because of a sexually explicit video

Recently a video on You Tube with very explicit sexual content by the overnight sensation Ja Turbo caused shock waves in Thai society and Hi-so hypocrites are now portrayed as shameless as immoral low-so entertainers. This is an interesting development in Thailand which likes to portray itself as a very traditional country with supposedly above average moral views and behavior.

Ja Turbo with Hi-so host Woody on the right

Dirty dancing leaves everybody in spin

"Describe the online community any way you want – powerful, fickle or suspicious – but, overnight, it has all but redeemed the most controversial Thai female teen singer of the hour and put a well-loved celebrity on a pillory of hatred and anger. Ja Turbo, whose real name is Nongpanee Mahadtai, had put on a show that made Michael Jackson’s crotch-grabbing move look like a teasing act in a parents’ day performance. The YouTube clip of her show has attracted 15 million views and counting. Naturally, she came under fire from left, right and centre. Until Woody came along, that is.

He invited “Nong Ja” to his show and asked some hard-hitting questions, some of which, critics say, were his own thinly-veiled commentaries. Woody was joined by two like-minded commentators who helped create an impression of holier-than-thou adults character assassinating a helpless teen who had been forced to be naughty and bitchy to stay competitive in a fierce nighttime entertainment business.

The rest, as they say, is history. The online world re-evaluated and then embraced her while turning against him. If the compassion showered upon Ja was amazing, the extreme hostility towards Woody was shocking. He has been cursed, scolded, scorned and virtually torn to pieces on YouTube. Tens of thousands of stinging feedbacks prompted the TV host to clarify his stand, which probably has made things worse."

The video in question by Ja Turbo

Considering what kind of reputation Thailand really has outside of Thailand, one of a sex holiday destination and the lack of control over said industry because too many people in high places make lots of money off of this industry, it's indeed questionable to say the least how the so called hi-so society of Thailand reacted to this phenomena.

Here's an interview with Nongpanee Mahadthai, aka Ja Turbo.

It will be an interesting story to follow.

Camille

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 19th February, 2011

Today's weather;

Samui has a blue sky hovering above with just some tiny white fluff clouds in it. It looks like it's going to be a hot day! Current temp at 7am is 25.6C

When I found Ekachia Srivichai's video the other day, I also stumbled over this video by Yui Yartyer, "Pok Mia Maa Duai ro", a song I like and hope you enjoy as well.

Yesterday was hot, for the first time in a long while the temperature broke the 30C mark on Samui again. Max temp reached 31.2C

Camille

Ekachai Srivichai show in Plai Laem

Ekachai Srivichai show in Plai Laem

Ekachai Srivichai is a well known Luk Thung artist from Southern Thailand, he's actually from Nakhon Si Thammarat.

His show in Plai Laem is part of the temple fair, organized around the Royally sponsored cremation ceremony of Prakru Suntinonthakhun at Wat Plai Laem earlier this week.

Early in the evening there were already plenty of people who wanted to make sure they got good seats and the entrance was already bustling with activity before the night broke.

Part of the early crowd may be that Ekachai is also part of the 'Meh Yok' tribe, which basically means that he's the sugar boy of older ladies who happily spend lots of cash and expensive gifts on him and similar artists like him. I strongly suspect however that Ekachai is gay so I wonder how that all fits in the picture? Than again, what do I know as Western outsider ;-)

Tickets aren't going to break an arm and a leg and with 150,-THB you're going to have a night of sanuk! I didn't stay on for the show, since a 4 hour show including support acts and the comedy guys is a bit too much for me.

A fellow blogger called the Cyber Captain describes how the live show is is in his blog.

Having worked in the music industry myself for a good amount of years, especially being on the road a few years, I must say that the stage was very big and looked very professional! Plenty of space for show troupes to dance!

A glimpse backstage with my good old universal back stage pass from my touring days was almost like a trip down memory lane, although none of the bands I worked with had such elaborate dance troupes and costumes.

The dancers in the troupe are almost all gay and when wondering around with my 5 year old son in his Thai school uniform we attracted a lot more attention from the male dancers and not nearly enough attention from the female dancers!

Some of the female troupe practicing their moves. It most certainly looked like a well orginsed and professional show. According to the feedback my wife received from the locals the show was very well received.

Here's one of his early songs, Maa Kud, his breakthrough in the Thai Luk Thung scene. Strangely enough a song I know since a fairly long time and always liked a lot but never knew it was his;

Camille