The Day I Pretended to be Thai: Thai Trade Exhibit 2013 in SMX Convention Center

- April 7, 2013, Sunday.

- My mom once again reminded me about the Thai Trade Exhibit after she red about it in the newspaper a few weeks ago. This year, she made sure that she would be able to go with me, and this year, I made sure I wore something distinctly Thai to the venue. Last year, I went to SMX alone, and wore something simple and minimalist, and wished I wore something better after having a fortunate photo session with the Thai dancers.

Tada!!

- This year's trade exhibit was once again a 4-day event, where the first two days were trade days, and the last two days, today being the final day, are open to the public. Most of the stalls were the same as last year's, and the crowd was not too big as well. The fruit-and-veggie carver was still there, as well as the Thai woman who cooked some Thai snacks, and gave them all away to the exhibit visitors. This year, she cooked sago with chicken, to be accompanied by some greens, such as Chinese parsley, or small pieces of lettuce.

Northern Thai

Northeastern Thai (Issan)

Southern Thai.

Central Thai.

4 Regions Dance.

Supanmatcha, from "The Pursuit of Supanmatcha," an excerpt fromt he Ramakien.

She's a mermaid by the way.

Hanuman arrives. (Left side.)

My highlight of today.

An "archaeology" dance. The dance moves were inspired from the dancers in temple carvings.

This is from the Sri Vijayan empire, so the dance's movements and music resemble Javanese ones.

- Today's schedule features three sets of dance numbers. One set in the morning, and two in the afternoon. A cooking demo was inserted between the two afternoon shows. The dances this year were better, and more diverse than last year's, but the 4 Regions Dance, my favorite Thai dance featuring samplers from the 4 Thai regions, was not as picturesque as last year's. I was not able to get a photo with the different dancers this year, although I was fortunate enough to have a photo taken with Hanuman during the "The Pursuit of Supanmatcha" dance. Both Supanmatcha and Hanuman went down the stage to half-dance and half-take-photos-with-people.

Another archaeology dance.

Kinaree Dance

Long stick short stick mock fight. (It was a comical performance, surprisingly.)

- Some of the dances were repeated in the later shows, although different music and dance steps were used. The final showcased the best costumes. Overall, I enjoyed the whole event, especially since there was no entrance fee, and a whole day of culture was more than enough to tickle all the senses.

Sukothai dance.

Issan dance.

Cooking demo for Pad Thai and Thai Green Curry. 

Hmm, not too satisfied with the Pad Thai. Felt like it lacked tamarind and/or lime. 

WHY HELLO ABI!!!! :D:D:D:D Didn't expect to see you!!

Kinaree Part 2.

Southern Thai dance.

Guys with puppets.

Issan dance 2.