For the Love of Siam: Forever Alone Sundays with Gilbert

- March 4, 2011, Sunday.

- My mom had been asking me if I wanted to attend the 4th Thai Trade Exhibition at SMX either yesterday or today, although the event was held from March 1 until today. Since I had my workshop yesterday, I told her that today was the only day I have for this event. My mom, however, had to cancel our trip the last minute last night, since she needed to accompany my sister somewhere. Too bad though, my mom was more enthusiastic about this event than I was. Still, I told my mom that if I wouldn't be able to find a friend to go with, I'd visit the exhibit myself.

- Well, I really wasn't able to find a friend to go with, so I went alone to SMX this morning at 9:20am; the event started at 10. I arrived at SMX, and registered (registration was free,) at the counter before going in Hall 3-4. To my surprise, the two halls were not fully packed. I expected to see more since I read that there were around 100 participating companies for this year's trade exhibit. I knew that not all 100 would be present in all four days, but I just expected to see more.

- I finished roaming around the place in around 1 hour. One side of the area was mostly for Thai food and grocery items, or health-and-well-being items, while the other side was for miscellaneous items, from household items, office supplies, to clothes and accessories. Not all were distinctly Thai, although there were indeed many interesting finds.

- I decided to stay longer after I head the DJ announce that there would be a Thai dance performance at 2pm. I roamed and roamed around the place, and surprisingly, I found more and more interesting items I wasn't able to see during my first round. I thought long before buying the more expensive items.

- I also got to see the fruit-and-vegetable carving demonstration, as well as the "foi thong" cooking demonstration. The Foi Thong is a type of Thai dessert made by simmering 10 cups of water, 10 cups sugar, a teaspoon of jasmine nectar, and pouring egg yolk as people would do with a funnel cake. Once the funnel-yokes are cooked, the yoke strands would be collected and folded into a stringy sweet flowery yumminess. Both the carver and the cook were personal chefs of the Thai ambassador to the Philippines, we were told.

- I visited the other trade fair beside the Thai trade exhibit. The other trade fair was participated by sports-related companies, and offered big discounts to their shoes, bags, and other items. Too bad I didn't find anything interesting.

- I had a light lunch at Travel Cafe Philippines, just outside the Thai Trade Exhibit, below the escalator, and rested my legs. The event didn't have stall where I could buy a decent (and hopefully) Thai lunch, so I had to eat elsewhere. I checked my watch, and I still had more than 2 hours to kill before the Thai dance presentation, I decided to hop over to MOA and buy some things I needed from the bookstore, and maybe eat a decent and heavier (second) lunch.

- I ate at Pollo Loco after buying my clearbook and refill pages, and thought that the Pollo Loco in MOA still tasted a lot better than the one in MOA. The chicken tasted like the one in Megamall, at least on the outside, but I felt that the meat was not as juicy or fragrant. While strolling in MOA, I also felt strange to see not too many people in MOA on a Sunday. Usually, it's hard to move around MOA during Sundays, consdiering how big MOA was supposed to be.

- I went back to SMX, and did a final round, before resting at the seats provided for the audience in front of the stage. The host soon came out, and introduced the dancers.

- The first dance was a mix of East and Western Thai dances, which depicted two mythological creatures from the Himmapan forest (the forest where most magical chimaera-like animal creatures are found.) The second dance was a courtship dance, I forgot which part of Thailand the dance came from though. The third one was a Northeast (from the Issan region) Thai dance. The finale was a 4-region dance, and as the name suggests, is a dance showcasing teasers of dances from all the four regions of Thailand (north, south, central, Issan,) and shows unity of all four regions.

- I went home after the Thai cultural presentation, and having a photo op with the dancers (thanks to making a deal with another person; she takes my photo, I take hers after.) I came home around four, and realized that I just had a really really Asian weekend. Talk about cultural immersion at its finest, and all happened here in Metro Manila. :) :) :) :)