::just got back the roll of B&W film I shot in Bangkok.. developed into 4R pics and scanned them in myself.. actually should have asked the lab to scan it for me, cos its quite troublesome.. hahaa, but I had to pay more on top of the already expensive film processing cost..


B&W Film
bought a roll B&W film prior to the trip.. only loaded it the night before.. would incorporate the scanned pics into this post as I go along..

Friday
spent the afternoon after band prac preparing for the trip.. the larger instruments had to bubble-wrap their instruments.. we didn't have to, since a clarinet can be easily hand carried on the plane.. helped clear up the mess that was being created in the band room.. lotsa cuttings to be cleared.. Zhi Xiong was playing with his bubble-wrapped Trombone and it still works..
got a call just as practice was about to start, so went outside to talk.. somehow, he got me and other Jeremy mixed up..

Saturday
went with the bus to help them load the instruments.. arrived at slightly past 5, the rest started to arrive by 5.30.. checked all the instruments that were to be checked in, then checked in the instruments first.. I had a bigger sized luggage which all the stands were put in, think they managed to squeeze about 30+ stands in there.. plus the percussion's mallets and stuff, its pretty heavy, 49kg if I remembered.. its like weight lifting everytime that luggage needed to be moved.. Wee Chong hand carried his bass clarinet on board.. he got first class tickets cos his dad works in the airline industry I think, so he has the luxury of space for his bass..


the first frame

while waiting found out that Mr Sukit was going with us on the trip too.. hahaa.. actually kinda suspected he was going anyway, he's Thai, he's based in Singapore, he's my ex-conductor.. ok, maybe the last point wasn't so relevant..



Group Pic..
took a group pic with Mr Kwek, who came to see us off.. then went to grab a magazine to read and something to eat.. by 7 we said our goodbyes and went into the boarding area.. our flight was SQ 632 bound for Tokyo-Narita, via Bangkok.. obviously we were getting off at Bangkok.. there were quite a number of Japanese people onboard, heading home I guess..


Group 1
was in Group 1.. the groups were picked by ballot, I was the first to pick and got into the 1st group hahaa.. our group was the smallest, only had 6 of us, Eng Seng, Yang Hao, Lucius, Huai Yu, Carol and myself.. quite easy for our group leader Eng Seng to manage, the first group to gather together most of the time..
didn't have to wait too long for the gate to open.. only waited in the waiting area for 5 mins before they announced the plane's ready for boarding.. was sitting at 55A, a window seat.. kept wondering who 55B was, Hui Shan was 55C.. so who's sitting inbetween us.. turns out to be Gloria..


on the plane..
the flight itself wasn't very long.. 2 hours at most.. watched an episode of House onboard, only to be cut abruptly when we were descending.. food onboard was ok.. Wee Chong's probably enjoyed himself during the flight, he was the only passenger in first class he told us.. at least he didn't have to deal with the less spacious economy seats.. looking forward to the new economy seats SIA advertised about..
touched down at Suvarnabhumi Airport at about 10pm, Thailand time.. the new airport's quite nice, better than the old one I remembered 6 years ago.. its quite minimalistic in design, as in its just concrete and glass..


Christmas Tree..
there was a giant lighted Christmas Tree on the way to the coaches.. only managed to snap this shot before we boarded the coach.. the ride there was about 1.5hrs, was quite high once we arrived.. all the new sights and sounds, so didn't really sleep onboard.. arrived at Royal City Hotel after 12 I think.. unloaded all the instruments and luggage, and got our keys.. was sharing a room with Jia Heng and Yong De, our 2 trumpet guys.. they also brought along their cornets, so each of us had 2 instruments to look after..


instrument problems..
Shao Ming had a little problem with his baritone sax, seems like the luggage handlers didn't handle it well enough.. there was a slight dent at the lower tone hole, causing a leak.. all the low notes couldn't be played..
quite alot of stuff happening on the first night..

Sunday
woke up quite early.. 6.30 I think, and the sun is already up.. sometimes I wonder why Thailand and Singapore have different times.. I mean if you do the split the globe into 24 sections thing, the 2 countries would be in the same section..
went down for breakfast at their Garden Cafe, reminiscence of band dinner.. then loaded up our instruments and head for Wat Suthiwaratham High School..
they were playing some pieces as we went in.. then did a short exchange/performance were we performed a few pieces and they performed a few piece.. their clarinet section was quite good, its the clarinet section sound, not just a bunch of clarinets sound.. then had sectionals after that.. mostly played by example since speaking might not get the message through that clearly..


had some games then took a group pic before we left..
suppose to do a reflection on the music side of the trip so might as well type it out here now..

One of my impressions of the other band was, they play together. Not only musically together but also when it comes to fun time. Maybe its because it a boys school, and they all share somesort of a brotherly bond. But I think the deeper reason behind, is because of music. I can see them enjoying themselves while playing the music, they understand each other and move together. A learing point I got from this exchange was the use of air support on the high and soft notes on my Eb Clarinet. Sometimes I feel there's not enough support from the bass instruments, I try to play softer to keep the balance and as a result don't use much air support.During the workshops at Silpakorn University, our clarinet tutor went through the fundamentals, long tone, fingerings, tongueing etc. Again air support was emphasised. While working on tongueing, he pointed out some people who were too long, as a result the whole section sounded mixed as everyone was not tongueing the same way. By tongueing the same way, the section sound was more defined and clear.After these two exchanges, I’ve learnt how to create a better sound and as a section, I think we are moving towards the ideal clarinet section sound.


bid our farewells as we left for lunch..
had a typical Thai meal.. of course with Tom Yam soup, didn't take much, quite spicy.. Huai Yu couldn't take spicy food, so we had an extra dish on the table.. helped her finish up also..
then went to Lumphni Park to watch a free outdoor concert.. our group both some pop-corn and drinks to share while waiting for the concert to start.. and wait we did.. was told to be there by 5, waited for half an hour then something happened, they tuned up.. more waiting, by the time its already 5.45, they played their opening piece.. William Tell Overture, which is the famous horse-galloping piece if you don't know the name..


waiting..
then it was the MCs turn to speak.. gave an intro to the orchestra in both English and Thai.. more talking and its time for us to gather and meet already.. nice, came to hear them talk..
our tour-guide took us to the night bazaar opposite..


Suan-Lum Night Bazaar..
there was a giant ferris wheel near where we entered.. wanted to sit on that, but the rest of my group didn't want to.. walked around the maze-like shops, quite a number of stuff on sale.. but was quite ex.. bought a handmade photo album.. quite retro, the pages were made of those selfmade paper, where you have to press the paper etc..
had Tom Yum for dinner again, but this time had more dishes.. the hotel was nearby, so it was a quick drive to the hotel..

Monday
spent the entire day doing music.. went to a gem gallery before heading for Silpakorn University.. Gloria met one of her friends there, just as we entered.. went for a slideshow presentation on gems, then to the gallery.. bought something for Chuan Xin and Li En.. then coincidentally met Sean there also.. he was there with his family on holiday, and we just happen to be at the same place at the same time..
not much pics from this day, hardly had any breaks.. it wasn't a big sprawling campus like NUS or NTU, only had a couple of buildings and thats it.. sight-read 2 pieces, Music from The Gladiator and Miss Saigon.. Miss Saigon was nice, very much like a broadway piece of music.. too bad we didn't manage to go through the whole piece..


Mr Dumrih with the band..
obviously I can't be the one who took this pic if I am in the pic.. one of the faculty members helped us to take some pics while we were there and burnt into a CD for us.. think they forgot to leave out the other school which came before us.. practiced Safari and Sinfonia till dinner time..
had dinner with the faculty members, they only had 2 other clarinettist.. the trumpets had lots more people.. 12 all together at last count, and 12 trumpets aren't soft..
then had some sectionals after dinner.. combined for another time before calling it a day..

Tuesday
checked out of our hotel cos we were moving to another hotel for the last night.. went to the floating market in the morning.. quite a long ride there, so watched Tom Yum Goong.. quite violent considering the fighting style involved.. you hear the sound of bone cracking, and not in a good way..
think I visited this floating market before.. seems very familar, a person taking photographs while you are on the boat, then later makes it into a plate.. think I bought one 6 years back..


the ride there was fast and furious.. noisy and loud also, any louder you'll probably think the person installed a jet engine on the boat.. the wake created behind was quite amazing too.. just held my hand outside the boat and my whole hand was wet..
sat in the middle together with Eng Seng.. a stategic position cos we could rock the boat from side to side.. hahaa..





took a couple of shots there in B&W.. film just seems so at home here.. where technology hasn't fully caught up yet.. the rest were buying some wood pencils, think they're clearing stock, bought alot of pencils so that the price would be lower.. those thick pencils made with unfinished wood, with the bark still on..
ate some food there, which I shouldn't after what happened.. bought the coconut pancake, quite nice and tasty.. then Mr Neo also bought some banana fritters for everyone.. then went to the handicraft centre.. dunno whether its the same one I visited before.. had really nice wood carvings that must have taken years to carve..
had a slight stomachache by the time we got to have lunch.. didn't really eat much.. they had a special "volcano" dish, which was bbq prawns.. Carol and Lucius had a great time eating all the seafood, esp the fish heads for Lucius..


the damage..
went to the university next for day 2 of our workshops.. didn't eat the packaged dinner at the uni, wasn't feeling all too well.. felt slightly better after throwing up.. had masterclasses with our respective tutors


did mostly the basics.. long tone, fingerings, tongueing and all 3 combined.. the tongueing part learnt something new, not exactly new, but learnt something.. if we wanna play short, all must play short, cos if one person plays a note slightly longer than the rest, it'll sound long.. got a better idea of how a clarinet section should sound like after the session.. there was some jazz music going on downstairs which sounded real good, groovy..
then had a combined session together for the last time.. worked more on Sinfonia, which sounded much better now..


took a last group pic together before we left..
went to D'Ma Pavillion Hotel for our last night.. slightly better than Royal City, but then.. my room has no view!! its blocked by the neighbouring hotel.. almost just a flat concrete facade facing us.. wasn't feeling too well, threw up after eating the pills.. Mr Neo came to give me some charcoal tablets.. so went to bed early, woke up a couple of times to throw up.. threw up the charcoal, so my vomit was black in colour, kinda gross.. rather have it normal coloured.. heard they had lotsa fun during the last night, going to other people's room, playing etc..
was OK by the next morning..

Wednesday
basically the free and easy day for us.. woke up as if nothing happened the night before.. only thing was I was feeling hungry.. had breakfast and we were on our way to MBK.. the 2 gals from our group went with some other gals to shop, so us 4 guys walked around for awhile.. bought 3 shirts for myself, including a long sleeved one which I thought was nice..
Stacey and Yi Fang joined us sometime later..


went to Swensens to eat ice-cream.. order Ebony & Ivory, which is the tall glass you see in the pic above.. and it only cost 115 baht, which is slightly over $4.. a steal compared to the ones in Sg.. just looking at the pic (even though its B&W) makes me crave for ice-cream now.. macadania ice-cream with caramel and fudge brownie bits.. yumm..
still on sweet stuff, guess what we spotted in one of the shops..


a giant lollipop..
enough to last a few weeks I reckon.. and at 470 baht, thats alot of sugar.. actually thought of buying it, but thought twice and decided its not worth spending so much on candy.. imagine taking that out in public and licking it.. all the little kids would be swarming to you asking you for a lick.. every little kids fantasy, a giant lollipop.. could double as a self-defence weapon too, the head of the lollipop's quite heavy and hard..
by 3 we had to depart for the airport already.. took some pics at the airport..


the clarinet section..
our flight was SQ 625, which was stopping over at Bangkok from Tokyo.. sat at 56D this time, an aisle seat.. sat with Yong De and Joanne on the next seat.. then found out that my entertainment system couldn't play videos, so did Shi Chie who was across the aisle.. could only play games, so played battleship with him.. won both games we played.. hahaa.. played checkers with the com and some connect 4 game..
touched down at around 10 plus, only came out of the gates at 11plus..
leave you with this last frame that I shot..


the last frame..

Labels: band, film

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.:JeReMyChAn blogged on 3:40 pm:.
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