Hubby dearest and I had started getting on each other’s nerves a little too often. Reason? Vacation addicts need their regular shots of vacation breaks (no matter how small), but our work schedules had kept us to the grindstone for more than a year and a half. So we decided to lighten our mood with a well-earned holiday.  Romantically, we decided on our honeymoon country – Thailand.  Phuket was a common destination, so we decided to give it a miss. We wanted someplace different, away from the maddening tourist crowd, maybe a bit funky.  Then we stumbled upon Koh Samui on the internet – I fell in love with the name instantaneously- it had a wine-like quality to it when it rolled off your tongue.  Koh Samui.  Some more research revealed some interesting facts – that it is the third largest island of Thailand, located at the Gulf of Thailand, and is surrounded by sixty other islands.  Photographs of white sandy beaches, crystal clear water, corals, swaying coconut trees (coconuts were the main cash crop) had me drooling.

Koh Samui boasts of many tourist attractions include Angthong National Marine Park, also known as the Golden Basin, where we could also indulge in snorkeling. The Samui Aquarium is a popular undersea world, while the Tiger Zoo Ko Samui is the proud host of Bengal tigers and leopards.  Wat Khunaram Ko Samui is the island’s famous temple where devotees throng to pay respects to the mummified former abbot of the temple, a meditation master.  Another important shrine on Ko Samui is the Laem Sor Pagoda Ko Samui whose yellow tiles give a golden glow to the shrine.  Koh Samui is also home to the Big Buddha, a 12-metre-high statue of the Budha at the Wat Phra Yai.

Apart from sight seeing, we could also take dance in the Full Moon Party, which is supposed to (according to the internet) the coolest and the hippest dance party ever.

Our search is over, and we are flying there next week, to get our batteries recharged.  Ciao

“Live music.” That common saying may contain some truth, but these days the word “live” is having less and less to do with music. For many people, a dj is their form of live music. Despite what dj’s would like to have you believe, musicians make excellent entertainment.

In the first place, people enjoy human performance. Many musicians like great athletes are multi-talented. They will croon on the tenor saxophone right to your soul, then turn around and chunk out a funky rhythm on a Fender Stratocaster. Can a dj play a turntable behind his head or with his teeth? Professional musicians love to sing and groove on just about any style of music from a Frank Sinatra to Outkast. They especially enjoy playing when the audience is responding to their performance.

In the second place, musicians are students of the arts. Musicians do not merely “push buttons.” They’ve had years of practice in their homes, and they do their thing on stage. Unlike dj’s musicians do not try to sing over or add other loud or strange noises to program music. Once a song starts it flows to the end and in the unfortunate event of a power shortage musicians can continue to entertain acoustically until power is restored. Even non-professional musicians usually understand “the show must go on” concept.

Lastly, one of the most attractive features of bands as entertainment is the affinity between them and their audience. Watching a great drummer is never boring because they’re constantly moving…feeling. An animated solo violinist playing an old wooden Stradivarius violin has a much greater chance of reaching into your soul and stirring your emotions than a dj with an array of magnetic speakers and digital amplifiers no matter how great his system sounds. It’s an apple trying to be an orange. It’s the difference between human blood and electricity.

Contrary to popular opinion, bands can be affordable. Just like with a dj, finding a band well in advance and securing them with a low down payment, the price can be negotiated to avoid costly or inadequate entertainment. Bands will even throw in a free cocktail hour or an extra half hour at the end to secure a date! Many bands are now offering “dj time.” This is when the musician hat comes off and the dj hat is put on to play the Techno, House, Hip-Hop, etc…Genres of today. People who have small parties should appreciate these characteristics of bands. However, many people who have large parties opt to have bands because they love the musician personality. In many ways, musicians are the ideal entertainers.

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