Well, so we collectively decided to go to Disneyland towards the end of our stay in Japan. However, it ended up being just Luiza and I, I have to say something about about Luiza for a second. This chick is so cool and I love living with her, her Brazilian energy and my Canadian fusion together is just nothing but good vibes. North America and South America living together learning about our cultures and differences but most importantly our similarities. She has a beautiful soul and when she walks into the room you feel her presence. So we took the JR line to Disneyland and when we got there we had the choice of Disneyland or sea…looking for the most adventurous one we asked a couple of people and they all lead us to Disney sea. We got to experience a live performance of jazz, which was just spectacular, and a performance from the Little Mermaid. We rode the rollercoasters like Indiana Jones, and tower of terror.
Takashi, Kaori (who is this phenomenal singer and a close friend of Takashi), Stephanie, Luiza, Ania and I went to a club called Yellow. Club Yellow was different because for the past week I was going to hip-hop parties so to experience a drum and techno night by this band called Swayzak was nice. Once again just like in the hip hop clubs this place was bumping with people loving the DJ, that night Luiza and I danced our asses off.
Tokyo………… I don’t want to leave! Good times here and more importantly good vibes, the people spoke English the food was amazing, the parties were full of passion and the city is buzzing louder then New York and London. No wonder it’s expensive and that the people work a lot and long hours but the clubs and night scene is like a place where people can just go to escape and let loose. Are you guys ready for Europe? I sure am…
Sunday, 11 May 2008
MTV Week
The next week in Japan was spent with MTV. We had a tour bus day with Teppi where he showed us around the city with his filming crew. When we got to the MTV studio they gave us each a flag representing our home countries, got a quick brief and we were on our way. While we were on the bus Teppi gave Ania, Luiza and I a challenge, we had to go to a store in Harajuko and find a shirt we liked. Unfortunately the ones I wanted were quickly picked by the girls so my selection got that much smaller, I went with a black and white shirt that had a Japanese symbol on it representing a Japanese king also known as Tono. The team voted and it was between dancing-Luiza, samurai - Ania and king-Kareem hahahaha…Luiza got up and started to dance and stole the show… then again who can beat a Brazilian dancer, well done Luiza!
After the challenge we went to a meditation house where we all sat on the floor and meditated for a small period of time. Actually the master lit some incense and we sat there until it was out. The catch was that if you moved, the master would come and tap you or if you put your hands together like they do in India when they greet some one saying namaste, the master would come and tap you on your back. He gave Teppi all he had but when it came to the girls he went a little soft. It is said that when you get tapped it's like the devil is leaving your body so I guess Teppi had a big one!
The day was spent cruising all over Tokyo experiencing different things in Tokyo, I can go on forever but to make it short…the team that lost the challenge in Shanghai had to go on a massive drop zone ride at a 50 year old theme park and film their facial expressions on the MTV cameras but if the footage was not of MTV satisfaction we had to do it again, they strapped John with a camera and on the second take we got it. When we got to the top we had an amazing view of the city while our bodies were lifted in the air getting a little airborne. Some punishment for losing in Shanghai… it was more like a reward!
So much happened in Japan … one night Akona, Ben and I went to Club Asia to do some filming for the Tokyo film and got to interview the DJs. That was really cool because we had a monopod and I filmed like a superstar. I really feel like I grasped the whole night and with monopod I got the action of every angle. I love my job and the work I do because I feel productive and most importantly I am contributing to our universal goal creating good content. What made this night original was the collaborations of artist and generals of music. I got the opportunity to interview the DJs thanks to my press media all access pass. When we got to see them we all relaxed on the couch and had a conversation with key questions, I love real people. Like when I went to Mexico I was interviewing local celebrities left right and centre and they all had nothing to say or were more concerned by how they looked on camera. Not these guys, they had kids, families and jobs, but lucky for them they truly love what they do and they don’t let the fame get to them and it shows. That night was a good night in Japan I worked hard, got to interview some really cool down to earth people and left late or early enough for the first train back to Roppengi.
Stephanie and Takashi were the producers for the video in Tokyo and found some cool spots for us to check out and film. We went to one spot called ‘Ninja’ where everyone is dressed up in costume and the venue looks like a gateway into an old school style Japan city. Prior to that we went to a place called Belta Salone, which looked like a secret lounge area because Stephanie had to have her fingerprint scanned prior to us going there. It even said her name when she scanned her finger. It was cool, it kind of looked like a James Bond movie. We got inside and the venue had a bunch of different style rooms with virtual simulations of golf, Nintendo Wii, karaoke, lcd/plasma screens and really nice couches. I liked that concept because you can go to this secret place with your friends and have a good time doing loads of active stuff while you enjoy your cocktails. One night Diageo took us out to a sushi place right above the restaurant where Kill Bill was filmed, I tried to take a picture of me doing some crazy ninja movies but it just looked silly.
Concert of a lifetime
While John and I were in Shabuya we went to some of the local music stores like Tower Records and HMV to get some club flyers to find something original. While we were going through over 100 flyers I came across a flyer for a concert called Springroove 2008. It had a great line-up… but the ticket was something like 11,000 yen which in Canadian dollars you subtract the last two 00 and you get 110 bucks ouch! That’s a dent in my pocket! Lucky for me I informed the local Diageo team about the event and a gentlemen by the name of Yoshida kindly told me he would get back to me, little did I know I would have 4 tickets for the Smirnoff hip-hop lovers to go and experience. Yoshida if you’re reading this, thank you once again because that had to have been one of the most memorable things I have done on this trip.
Akona Benjamin III, Luiza and I set sail at around 1pm and got there about an hour later, it was cool because we got onto the JR line and took the train outside Tokyo to city called Makari to the Makuharimessa arena. The train was packed with people and teenagers in their funky outfits all excited for this massive spring festival. We got there a little early so we found a place on the floor and watched the masses walk by. I love going to festivals in cities: I went to one in Argentina for Tiesto, one in Brazil called Experience and now one in Japan called Springroove, and every time I felt like I really got to know the local people and music scene. … It was truly an unexplainable overwhelming experience. Every song I memorised not intentionally but just because I love commercial music was preformed live before my mesmerized eyes. All the classics form the last couple of year's…good times and all in Japan who would of known?!
Cherry Blossom
I don’t know if someone planned it that way but when we got to Japan it was the beginning of spring, which means cherry blossom season. When people told me that they wouldn’t last for long I didn’t anticipate them to be completely gone in a little more then a week, that’s why while they blossom the streets and parks are packed with people admiring their beauty. One night Luiza, Stephanie and I went to Euno park where you can find a couple of really long park streets with people everywhere taking pictures and sitting down on the grass - it was a nice feeling. We took the cameras with us to capture the moment and asked a couple of people about their experiences.
Harajuko
Guys if you want to go to a really cool place for shopping besides Shabuya in Japan this is the area. It’s basically one massive strip with side by side shopping stores. I got myself a pair of kick ass shoes. A lot of the Smirnoff members found something to their liking so I’m sure anyone can find something. They have items from hip hop clothes, caps, shoes, jewellery, everything you might find in a weekend market plus it’s in a cool area to walk around in.
Japan
ARIGATO
So where do I start…? Because everyone including MTV Japan knows how excited I am to finally be here in one of the most expensive, creative, animated, electronically driven and one of the craziest and passionate music scenes I have experienced in the last 6 months, city in the world. This is one of the countries on this trip I have been long waiting for and finally Kareem hits Japan.
Shabuya
After checking into our apartment John and I decided to hit one of his favourite spots in Japan – Shabuya. However, we got off the subway a stop early at Omote-sannao to walk through the streets that lead up to Shabuya. For someone coming from Canada with six months of travelling experience under his belt I was not prepared for what was coming my way. As we got closer and closer to Shabuya I constantly noticed everyone and everything around me, it kind of felt like when I went to New York for the first time and my head was stuck in the air looking around while I was going in a 360 rotation wanting to see every inch around me, that was me. The people in Tokyo have an extremely unique style - it’s a pretty much an anything goes system, you can mix hyper green with yellow and blue and somehow it works and looks cool. I absolutely love the style in Tokyo, it amazed me how people can put so many different things together style and colour. Oh! And how can we forget the thousands of strap jewellery? I got myself a little ninja to put on my portable playstation as a memory.
Locked up
After walking around for a while John and I decided to go into this restaurant bar called Locked Up. I guess curiosity got to us and the advertisements looked really appealing. We walked down a dark set of stairs until we got to this massive dungeon door. Waiting inside was a woman in costume and handcuffs who escorted us to our dungeon cell and closed the cell door behind us, hence the name of the place. It was quite the experience for me because I haven’t really been to theme restaurants before, so to be put into a jail cell while having dinner and drinks that looked like something out of Dracula’s lair was original.
Club Asia
The next day Ben, Luiza and I decided to hit the clubs, we took the tube to Shabuya and walked to the clubbing district a couple blocks up the street. There must have been about 10 clubs all in a row. We headed to a Smirnoff sponsored party at Club Asia. Club Asia is a really diverse club - I met some Canadians there and a couple of guys from Europe at the bar. We shared a little chat and I made my way inside to the dance floor. When we got in everyone was focused on the stage where there was a live reggae performance by local Japanese artists. Now this was cool; Japanese guys spitting reggae lyrics toned with old school beats. It reminded me a little of China when I saw live performances bye local Chinese guys spitting drum and bass beats. I’m really intrigued by live music, especially when it’s not something I am particularly use to. The crowd was swiftly moving from left to right and the song “Put your lighters up” came on the floor looked like one massive flame.
One thing I love about the Japanese DJs is that they take their jobs extremely seriously, I mean it feels to me like they go to school and get degrees in music and deejaying just because when they DJ it’s like pure passion. Not only that, but the crowd can feel it and they feed off of it. I know Ben and I did! It’s nice to see real music by real DJs playing with real passion. One thing about Japan that I really enjoyed was the hours that clubs ran until, instead of closing at 3 am like Montréal, in Japan they usually run until the first train starts at around 5 am. I guess that’s why I found over 30 people waiting for the train to start again, then again I don’t blame them - a taxi ride starts at 7 bucks or 3.5 pounds and can climb faster then you think!
So where do I start…? Because everyone including MTV Japan knows how excited I am to finally be here in one of the most expensive, creative, animated, electronically driven and one of the craziest and passionate music scenes I have experienced in the last 6 months, city in the world. This is one of the countries on this trip I have been long waiting for and finally Kareem hits Japan.
Shabuya
After checking into our apartment John and I decided to hit one of his favourite spots in Japan – Shabuya. However, we got off the subway a stop early at Omote-sannao to walk through the streets that lead up to Shabuya. For someone coming from Canada with six months of travelling experience under his belt I was not prepared for what was coming my way. As we got closer and closer to Shabuya I constantly noticed everyone and everything around me, it kind of felt like when I went to New York for the first time and my head was stuck in the air looking around while I was going in a 360 rotation wanting to see every inch around me, that was me. The people in Tokyo have an extremely unique style - it’s a pretty much an anything goes system, you can mix hyper green with yellow and blue and somehow it works and looks cool. I absolutely love the style in Tokyo, it amazed me how people can put so many different things together style and colour. Oh! And how can we forget the thousands of strap jewellery? I got myself a little ninja to put on my portable playstation as a memory.
Locked up
After walking around for a while John and I decided to go into this restaurant bar called Locked Up. I guess curiosity got to us and the advertisements looked really appealing. We walked down a dark set of stairs until we got to this massive dungeon door. Waiting inside was a woman in costume and handcuffs who escorted us to our dungeon cell and closed the cell door behind us, hence the name of the place. It was quite the experience for me because I haven’t really been to theme restaurants before, so to be put into a jail cell while having dinner and drinks that looked like something out of Dracula’s lair was original.
Club Asia
The next day Ben, Luiza and I decided to hit the clubs, we took the tube to Shabuya and walked to the clubbing district a couple blocks up the street. There must have been about 10 clubs all in a row. We headed to a Smirnoff sponsored party at Club Asia. Club Asia is a really diverse club - I met some Canadians there and a couple of guys from Europe at the bar. We shared a little chat and I made my way inside to the dance floor. When we got in everyone was focused on the stage where there was a live reggae performance by local Japanese artists. Now this was cool; Japanese guys spitting reggae lyrics toned with old school beats. It reminded me a little of China when I saw live performances bye local Chinese guys spitting drum and bass beats. I’m really intrigued by live music, especially when it’s not something I am particularly use to. The crowd was swiftly moving from left to right and the song “Put your lighters up” came on the floor looked like one massive flame.
One thing I love about the Japanese DJs is that they take their jobs extremely seriously, I mean it feels to me like they go to school and get degrees in music and deejaying just because when they DJ it’s like pure passion. Not only that, but the crowd can feel it and they feed off of it. I know Ben and I did! It’s nice to see real music by real DJs playing with real passion. One thing about Japan that I really enjoyed was the hours that clubs ran until, instead of closing at 3 am like Montréal, in Japan they usually run until the first train starts at around 5 am. I guess that’s why I found over 30 people waiting for the train to start again, then again I don’t blame them - a taxi ride starts at 7 bucks or 3.5 pounds and can climb faster then you think!
Saturday, 10 May 2008
Koh Pangnan
Put it this way, after being on this island for one night I called up everyone I knew and begged them to come down here. Cancun move over, Brazil move over because Thailand just took over. In Thailand it’s just so easy to party, you don’t need to look for the party it’s just everywhere you look. We didn’t stay on the Haad Rin beach coast because the noise would have just took away from all the great work we do, so we stayed around the island at a place called the sanctuary. Great place, amazing food, good people - The Sanctuary is your perfect get away.First Night on Haad Rin Beach
The first night we got there, the group decided to go to sleep early but I grabbed a boat with Takashi and we headed for Haad Rin beach. We checked in on Kung who was visiting his friends from Bangkok and then we hit the beach for a massive pre full moon party. Takashi and I danced our way around the entire beach finally bumping in Stephanie Prentice and her girlfriends from London. Once we were together, it was our turn to take over the beach and that we did. We found the highest place on the beach to dance, got on top, and gave the crowd a show. I love to dance, it’s just some thing I feel a great connection to, now I’m not of those people from “ so you think you can dance “ but I know I can feel a beat. But most importantly when I dance my heart and soul goes into it and people see it.
If there is one thing I have learnt on this trip is that you must always always always and if you haven’t noticed I'm stressing in always, remember the experience. On my youtube audition for the Smirnoff Ten I stressed that point, why do anything in life if you’re not going to remember it. So, I grabbed a boat back to my sanctuary. After a quick meal and a camera check John, Audette and I got together in Audette’s tree house for a little planning. We looked at a million things we could do for our full moon film and brainstormed our way into a really creative idea. I love it when we get together and work as a team towards one goal, it’s incredible how people’s minds from all over the world can come up with extremely creative material. After about 2 hours of planning out how our night was going to be we all got dolled up and headed for the Full Moon Party.
We got onto a speed boat and about 20 mins later we could see the coast of Haad Rin beach, as we got closer and closer we could hear the music getting louder and louder. We hit the shore and were overwhelmed by the amount of people that were there. It took me a couple of minutes to get my bearings back from looking around and seeing thousands of people - it has to the most international party I have been to so far. I know because I interviewed as many people as I could. Okay, so my job was to walk the beach interviewing people asking them key questions like… is the glass half full or half empty? Where are you from?, How do you think the full moon started? I have to tell you it was probably the funniest moment I have had on this trip. Nothing I have done up to date can beat that moment, people where coming up to me saying “ man you have the best job in the world” and you know what… I do. Thank you Smirnoff for giving me the opportunity to follow my dream, becoming a broadcaster, travelling the world and meting amazing people from every corner of this beautiful planet. So we did all our filming and got the Smirnoff Ten’s thoughts about being half way through the year. After that we sent our cameras back home and it was time to go out.!
With all the work done it was time it was time to have good night out, and I am one of those people that when I work I don’t drink -. Work comes first everything else is second, think about it when this is all over I’m going to need a job and I know Smirnoff is the best internship I could ask for so that’s why I am trying to get the best out of this experience and take this project to another level. It’s interesting how I jump from one thing to another… I guess being in this experience is making me a better person and making me realize a lot of things about myself I didn’t know prior to this.
So where was I? Honestly everyone needs to experience a full moon party, I danced for at least a good 10 hours and I would have gone longer but my body just said no. I started the night with Takashi, Kung, Luiza and Steph, we tried to keep everyone together but the full moon party is one massive beach with about 10 clubs/bars and about 5,000 people if anything more, so you try to keep 10 people together. Throughout the night I got to meet people from all over the world, a very lovely girl from Sweden whom I wish I took her contact, a gentlemen from Canada who brought back good Canadian moments, people from London, Germany, America, south America everywhere, the list just goes on and on but you get the point. Either way the night was basically the world coming together for one reason - the full moon party. At one point I was walking down the streets looking for food and I found this one place that had the best chicken burger I have tasted in a while and while I was waiting in line I meet these really cool cats from Australia whom I was like I’ve been there, I told them about my new years experience and the party in Melbourne called summer days and they knew what I was talking about. It’s so cool to talk to people about the places I have gone to especially when they are from there, it’s like I can relate to the world now. I got myself back to the party and showed up at this place called Club Raise, Kung was suppose to be Dj-ing and I wanted to see him doing his thing. Lucky for me when I got there he was just about to start and just before he got on I took a couple of pics of him excited to be playing in his home country at the biggest party of the month. As usual he played his famous drum and bass and people from all over the beach came to listen to him. While we were dancing I noticed the sun coming up and by the time Kung finished it was bright and sunny outside and everyone had his or her dark black shades on, thank God I took mine. I got home at around 10 and slept for the remainder of the day; all in all the full moon party surprised me in more ways other. It was an experience of a lifetime and I hope one day all be back for round 2.
Why must you be so good to me? Why? Okay people I know I said this before but I’ll say it again - you all need to save up every single penny you have, if you need a second job, hell go get one because Thailand is the place to be.
Don’t skip on Ko SamuiLets start form the beginning… the Smirnoff Ten took a plane from Bangkok to the island of Ko Samui, now a lot of people over shadow this place and go straight to Ko Phangan however, this is one spot you don’t want to miss. While we were there we met a Ko Samui club owner socialite who showed us around the place and took us to the local hot spots. First stop was a club called SOLO, it was half inside half outside and they had a Smirnoff party for us waiting when we got there. We had all our cameras ready to go and I was planning on doing some broadcasting while I was there, so with the help of Ania and Audette we got a lot of really good footage. We started by filming the venue, then we moved on to a fire show with bottles, and we ended it with a recap from the owner telling us about the nightlife in Ko Samui. What I didn’t know was while the fire show was going on he decided that I would be the perfect subject and got me to participate. I got on my knees and he placed a bottle that was on fire on my head, I was freaking out because while this was going on he was juggling behind me, but I wiped the sweat off my face and made it out alive. I remembering saying I hope you have body insurance, because the next day I saw the same act on a beach but the people kept dropping the fire, freaking the spectators out. Solo was fun and I got to meet a lot of great people that just wanted to escape the every day city life and hide out on an island while they sipped on their long island ice tea.
Ice BarThe next day was another line up of clubs all over the island we started at this place called the Icebar and that’s what it is - a bar completely full of ice. We got inside and had a drink to warm up before the ice chamber, now before you go into this place you literally need to put on a winter poncho and gloves. The room was below zero and after about an hour of being in there I couldn’t take it anymore, there was a guy from the National Geographic taking pics of us so I tried my hardest to put on a warm smile. The ice bar is more of an experience then anything else, it’s a nice place to cool off and see some beautiful ice sculptures imported from no other then my homeland Canada. The drinks are served in an ice glass, the music is low enough to have a conversation and it’s a nice way to get away from the Thailand humidity.
After the Ice bar we went over to Chaweng Beach where all the clubs are central located, its just one club after another after another after another. Better than that, the clubs overflow on to the streets so the main road becomes a massive club surrounded by clubs, confused? Yeah so am I. Anyway maybe the pictures can explain. That night was amazing me and Luiza danced our all night, and everyone around us just wanted to know why we were so happy and excited. If they only knew the Smirnoff Ten! Akona, Ben and I found ourselves in another club that was so big you could get lost in it, we all met some really cool people and they joined us for a late night dinner. The phone rang and no other then Ania was looking for us waiting to go home, after our conversation and meal, that’s what we did.
Altogether Ko Samui is an amazing stop off from Bangkok before Ko Phangan!
Club Escudo Night! (Smirnoff Event)
One night we attended the well anticipated official Smirnoff party hosted by us at a massive club with two floors called Escudo. We showed up to the party and took a couple of pictures for the local media, which got us really excited. Our first stop was the elevator where there was a map of our journey around the world and a picture of us, hahahhaahahhahaha get this. So I walk up to the bouncer and he says to me “ID please” Now this was completely my fault but I forgot mine. What was I going to do? So I tried to talk to him but he just wouldn’t have it so while this is going on I see some people walk in, that’s when I grabbed him and showed him my picture in the elevator where immediately he opens the gates and wished me a fantastic night, nice. The first floor of the club is a more R&B hip-hop scene with a lot of place to sit and a dance floor that could have been a bit bigger. The second floor has more of a house feeling and had much more room to dance. Escudo is a really good because it has it all and it showed me a good time.
After checking out the place I decided to chill out a bit and get myself a drink, little to my surprise I was in for a treat, the Smirnoff Ten had drinks named after them and pictures of themselves beside it. I do recall telling the Australian media how much I loved Smirnoff Ice. Either way it was cool and when I got to the bar I was like “ hey can I have my drink?” fine maybe that was a bit too much or really cheesy but I was all excited. The night was starting with a bang!
The Smirnoff Ten hit the dance floor and instantly took over, with our heads popping over the DJ booth while dancing our hearts out watching the media having a blast capturing the moment taking pictures. The night went on and Kung got to do what he does best - DJ. He span some of his classic drum n bass and mixed in some music he heard from around the world. Every time Kung DJ’s we all go a little berserk and start screaming KUNGGGGGGG! He’s our boy and just like in Salvador at the carnival Kung was the star of the night. All in all it was a nice way to end our stay in Bangkok. Out with a bang, just the way I like it.
Next stop the islands and the full moon party,,,
After checking out the place I decided to chill out a bit and get myself a drink, little to my surprise I was in for a treat, the Smirnoff Ten had drinks named after them and pictures of themselves beside it. I do recall telling the Australian media how much I loved Smirnoff Ice. Either way it was cool and when I got to the bar I was like “ hey can I have my drink?” fine maybe that was a bit too much or really cheesy but I was all excited. The night was starting with a bang!
The Smirnoff Ten hit the dance floor and instantly took over, with our heads popping over the DJ booth while dancing our hearts out watching the media having a blast capturing the moment taking pictures. The night went on and Kung got to do what he does best - DJ. He span some of his classic drum n bass and mixed in some music he heard from around the world. Every time Kung DJ’s we all go a little berserk and start screaming KUNGGGGGGG! He’s our boy and just like in Salvador at the carnival Kung was the star of the night. All in all it was a nice way to end our stay in Bangkok. Out with a bang, just the way I like it.
Next stop the islands and the full moon party,,,
Thailand!
Well Bangkok… just like almost everywhere I have been to you have done me well! So what can I tell you about Bangkok? First off, I have never seen more tourism anywhere else in the world! It’s ridiculous how many people are here and if you want to go where the world goes to vacation and party this is the place to be and I’ll tell you why. Three simple things, night life, islands, and that sense that you’re just far away from home.
We checked into our hotel, which I must say was superb, its called Centre Point and its on Langsuan road in the nice area of town. I have to say being part of the Smirnoff Ten we are so extremely fortunate when it comes to accommodation. However, if you’re going to stay in Bangkok I suggest you find yourself a hostel near Khao San road. Now, Khao San Road is this massive strip with a lot of Pat Thai and Thai food, everything you could want to buy from fisherman pants, (which I highly recommend because it makes you feel like a hippy and are extremely comfortable) DVD sets, music, bars, clubs, hostels, and the street kind of feels blocked off because you almost never see cars on it. This street is the heart of Bangkok for me, and it is definitely the first place you need to see when you arrive in Bangkok.
On our first night Stephanie and I put our bags down and jumped into the first rickshaw we could find to Khao San road, we walked around up and down the street until we stopped at this Irish bar for a drink?. You know that I am one extremely social individual, so I noticed these two British girls beside us and invited them to join us, slowly we invited more and more people and it become one crowd of people from all over the world talking about their experiences and what brings them to Thailand. That’s what it’s all about and I try to convey that on my Kareem TV, guys go out meet people and see the world! So Steph and I ended up making some really cool friends who took us to a club on our first night in Bangkok.
If you’re looking for a more designer club some thing that when you walk in you just know someone spent a lot of money building and where people get all dressed up and pretty then the RCA district is the place to be. I was kind of a little disappointed I didn’t find the place a little earlier because when I found it I was a bit shocked to see such a wicked street. RCA is basically a long street in Bangkok that houses over 10 clubs all in a row one after the other, so there is something there to please everyone. I must have walked into about 5 clubs in one night not because I was bored but because I wanted to see it all. The only thing I didn’t like about some of the places I went to was a lot of people drinking at tables instead of rocking the dance floor. Well I guess you can’t have it all. So take my advice and check out the RCA district.
We checked into our hotel, which I must say was superb, its called Centre Point and its on Langsuan road in the nice area of town. I have to say being part of the Smirnoff Ten we are so extremely fortunate when it comes to accommodation. However, if you’re going to stay in Bangkok I suggest you find yourself a hostel near Khao San road. Now, Khao San Road is this massive strip with a lot of Pat Thai and Thai food, everything you could want to buy from fisherman pants, (which I highly recommend because it makes you feel like a hippy and are extremely comfortable) DVD sets, music, bars, clubs, hostels, and the street kind of feels blocked off because you almost never see cars on it. This street is the heart of Bangkok for me, and it is definitely the first place you need to see when you arrive in Bangkok.
On our first night Stephanie and I put our bags down and jumped into the first rickshaw we could find to Khao San road, we walked around up and down the street until we stopped at this Irish bar for a drink?. You know that I am one extremely social individual, so I noticed these two British girls beside us and invited them to join us, slowly we invited more and more people and it become one crowd of people from all over the world talking about their experiences and what brings them to Thailand. That’s what it’s all about and I try to convey that on my Kareem TV, guys go out meet people and see the world! So Steph and I ended up making some really cool friends who took us to a club on our first night in Bangkok.
If you’re looking for a more designer club some thing that when you walk in you just know someone spent a lot of money building and where people get all dressed up and pretty then the RCA district is the place to be. I was kind of a little disappointed I didn’t find the place a little earlier because when I found it I was a bit shocked to see such a wicked street. RCA is basically a long street in Bangkok that houses over 10 clubs all in a row one after the other, so there is something there to please everyone. I must have walked into about 5 clubs in one night not because I was bored but because I wanted to see it all. The only thing I didn’t like about some of the places I went to was a lot of people drinking at tables instead of rocking the dance floor. Well I guess you can’t have it all. So take my advice and check out the RCA district.
INDIA!
Guys...India! India, India, India, boy when I found out I was going to India it was like a dream come true! Finally all those countless hours in front of the TV watching Bollywood movies, looking for my own romance in this colourful, musical, cultural world they call incredible and I was there to take the ever-precious moment. I felt a close connection to India having deep family roots right in to Lahore Pakistan, India would be my window into south Asia. Now, before going to India I called up my trusted sister who travelled nearby to see some family a couple of years back to get my travel advice. “Whatever you do,” she told me “Don’t drink the water”, fine! Everyone says that about everywhere I go. I got my shots back in London, all will be fine. Yeah right I wish… I didn’t take that chance so I kept it to bottled water to be on the safe side.
As soon as you enter the land of Mumbai a.k.a. Bombay you feel the heat sort of taking over your entire body leaving you with this humid feeling. The sound of India never sleeps…Never! If someone were to ask me, what’s one thing you remember about India? I would have to say… the sounds… whether you’re in a rickshaw that has his horn on 24/7 playing Hindi music or in a luxurious SUV with the ac mixed out telling the rickshaw to move while listening to Hindi music…the sounds just never ends. But I kind of like that about the city, it’s just always buzzing with excitement. After we did what we do everywhere we go, check in that is, I noticed some guys setting up out back for an event, a wedding perhaps? That was exactly it, but I have to tell you this hotel SunNSand must have been special because every night that we were there, there was a wedding. It was quite nice, my bed overlooked the entrance of the hotel and every night I had front row tickets to a live Bollywood show. That reminds me… I must have a horse at my wedding! The food is something I was going to look forward to the most because I have been eating south Asian food since I was a little toddler and I love it. So when I was getting ready to go to India I made myself a list of things I wanted to try while I was there. It was a long list but I have to tell you the food in India kicked ass In every category, whether it was my favourite desserts like glam gamin and barfli or my favourite dinner meal like butter chicken and also prantah, another thing I’ll never forget about India is the food! MMmmmmmmm butter chicken. So the food’s good, the transportation is cheap, and the city is buzzing…. But how’s the nightlife?
I have to say I was impressed. The first night we decided to go out - Luiza, Stepho, Ania and myself decided to go to a Bollywood night at Club Poison. Little did we know local super star celebrity Sunjay Datt was the owner? I was there just minding my own business when suddenly crowds of people started to swarm aroud someone and pictures were flashing like the paparazzi. Being the person I am I jammed my camera out of my pocket and started to head for the action. Who else was it but the owner, guys…? This is someone I have seen in movies over and over and over, so to see him in his club surrounded by women was the perfect Bollywood night. They played classic songs like “o ta mugekooo” a bangra hit and I got to test out my Bollywood moves where it all started. It felt good, that same night we met two guys jazelle and…damit. What was his name? (You see travelling the world and constantly meeting thousands of people takes a toll on remembering names). Always… we met these two really cool guys and ended up going out with them a couple of times during our stay in India.
I don’t know where to start when it comes to India because too much happened. We experienced a massive Smirnoff event that hosted no other than Paul Van Dyke also known in India as PVD. A DJ guru and true master in his field of pumping up the crowd to his own rhythm. The Smirnoff Ten was going to get a chance to meet him and find out a little about what’s going on in the music world. But before that we entered Poison and were blocked by a big queue. Taking us about 20 mins to get to the bar I was overwhelmed with a bill of 1200 rupees for a drink I thought would be cheap, next time get the menu. You guys can relate because when I get to the bar I just want to order my drink, and take a look at the crowd. Jazelle my new trusted friend managed to get a hold of a friend and told him who we were and that’s when he waved us in and took us right in the heart of the action - the VIP Stage. It had much more room to dance and we were facing the crowd, all I needed to do was put my hands up and dance, dance, dance. Unfortunately the clubs end pretty early in India and by 2 am everything is closed apart from the restaurants. I learned that over the duration of two different nights.
If you’re looking for a more relaxed place to chill out you can always go to Chinatown, it’s a little joint that was hot 6 months ago, but like all clubs in India six months is the approximate expiry date. Chinatown spins a combination of R&B and hip-hop and at around midnight they move the centre around to make way for a dance floor. There are a lot of private rooms for you and your friends that over look the club, which is nice. One of the walls is completely filled with Indian candles and ancient artefacts giving it a different taste generally surrounding the place. For more of an upbeat crowd check out Inigma. Inigma is another club I checked out with Jazelle from New Zealand… you know that friend you have at home where you guys just hit clubs sort of like the Night on the Roxbury movie? Well he was my sideman. He showed me the ropes and the cool places to check out and I managed to get him into the PVD party so it was a give and take situation. That ended up being really cool because we got to meet a lot of high profile entertainment players like Michel who is an American living in India dealing with the local media. We also met a couple of socialites and at the end of the night we all went for a late night dinner. I find that when you visited some where whether it’s business or pleasure, if you really want to be absorbed in everything that’s going on, like the people, culture and vibe then you really need to get a grip of the locals. I don’t know what it is but I find that to be really easy, I’m just a people person and I can relate to a lot of the world. That’s something I have been doing in almost every country and it pays off.
The night life in India is constantly buzzing as they say over here, there is just so much going on and change is in the air. Every 6 months a new joint opens up or an old one takes on a new name and different vibe. The people I came across just happen to be big players but they gave me the boost I needed, “there is a lot of change going on in India” Michel told me, “and it’s up to you to either be a part of it, or watch it just change before your eyes”. Everywhere you look the world is concentrated on India and I can’t wait to see what this place looks like in a couple of years from now. I just hope they don’t lose the most important thing I found…the culture and energy.
A little off topic from the whole nightlife buzz…BOLLYWOOD!
The Diageo team had a massive and I mean MASSIVE surprise for us on our last day in India, now I know for the rest of the team it was just seeing something cool like meeting some actresses and actors from Bollywood while being on the set of a big movie, But for me it meant more. So they told us we were going to a Bollywood shoot with some class c and b actors so I didn’t think much of it. I tried and tried to tell them I wanted to meet my one love Rani Mukargee but that wasn’t going to happen. What I didn’t know is that they found some one equally meaningful Kareena Kapoor. Not only did I meet her but we took pictures while my eyes told her “I love you”. We also met Amrita who is a drop dead gorgeous actress and I kind of felt bad because when I was shaking Kareena’s hand I completely forgot about her and she was like “HI I’M AMRITA” oops… something to tell the kids when I'm 40. Seeing people up close that you watch on the TV is a crazy experience, especially Indian movies because they are so focused on love and music and I don’t know I just really get attached to the character. No movie in the world can get to me like a Bollywood film and I guess that’s why I love it so much, just don’t watch too much of it because it might take over your mind.
As soon as you enter the land of Mumbai a.k.a. Bombay you feel the heat sort of taking over your entire body leaving you with this humid feeling. The sound of India never sleeps…Never! If someone were to ask me, what’s one thing you remember about India? I would have to say… the sounds… whether you’re in a rickshaw that has his horn on 24/7 playing Hindi music or in a luxurious SUV with the ac mixed out telling the rickshaw to move while listening to Hindi music…the sounds just never ends. But I kind of like that about the city, it’s just always buzzing with excitement. After we did what we do everywhere we go, check in that is, I noticed some guys setting up out back for an event, a wedding perhaps? That was exactly it, but I have to tell you this hotel SunNSand must have been special because every night that we were there, there was a wedding. It was quite nice, my bed overlooked the entrance of the hotel and every night I had front row tickets to a live Bollywood show. That reminds me… I must have a horse at my wedding! The food is something I was going to look forward to the most because I have been eating south Asian food since I was a little toddler and I love it. So when I was getting ready to go to India I made myself a list of things I wanted to try while I was there. It was a long list but I have to tell you the food in India kicked ass In every category, whether it was my favourite desserts like glam gamin and barfli or my favourite dinner meal like butter chicken and also prantah, another thing I’ll never forget about India is the food! MMmmmmmmm butter chicken. So the food’s good, the transportation is cheap, and the city is buzzing…. But how’s the nightlife?
I have to say I was impressed. The first night we decided to go out - Luiza, Stepho, Ania and myself decided to go to a Bollywood night at Club Poison. Little did we know local super star celebrity Sunjay Datt was the owner? I was there just minding my own business when suddenly crowds of people started to swarm aroud someone and pictures were flashing like the paparazzi. Being the person I am I jammed my camera out of my pocket and started to head for the action. Who else was it but the owner, guys…? This is someone I have seen in movies over and over and over, so to see him in his club surrounded by women was the perfect Bollywood night. They played classic songs like “o ta mugekooo” a bangra hit and I got to test out my Bollywood moves where it all started. It felt good, that same night we met two guys jazelle and…damit. What was his name? (You see travelling the world and constantly meeting thousands of people takes a toll on remembering names). Always… we met these two really cool guys and ended up going out with them a couple of times during our stay in India.
I don’t know where to start when it comes to India because too much happened. We experienced a massive Smirnoff event that hosted no other than Paul Van Dyke also known in India as PVD. A DJ guru and true master in his field of pumping up the crowd to his own rhythm. The Smirnoff Ten was going to get a chance to meet him and find out a little about what’s going on in the music world. But before that we entered Poison and were blocked by a big queue. Taking us about 20 mins to get to the bar I was overwhelmed with a bill of 1200 rupees for a drink I thought would be cheap, next time get the menu. You guys can relate because when I get to the bar I just want to order my drink, and take a look at the crowd. Jazelle my new trusted friend managed to get a hold of a friend and told him who we were and that’s when he waved us in and took us right in the heart of the action - the VIP Stage. It had much more room to dance and we were facing the crowd, all I needed to do was put my hands up and dance, dance, dance. Unfortunately the clubs end pretty early in India and by 2 am everything is closed apart from the restaurants. I learned that over the duration of two different nights.
If you’re looking for a more relaxed place to chill out you can always go to Chinatown, it’s a little joint that was hot 6 months ago, but like all clubs in India six months is the approximate expiry date. Chinatown spins a combination of R&B and hip-hop and at around midnight they move the centre around to make way for a dance floor. There are a lot of private rooms for you and your friends that over look the club, which is nice. One of the walls is completely filled with Indian candles and ancient artefacts giving it a different taste generally surrounding the place. For more of an upbeat crowd check out Inigma. Inigma is another club I checked out with Jazelle from New Zealand… you know that friend you have at home where you guys just hit clubs sort of like the Night on the Roxbury movie? Well he was my sideman. He showed me the ropes and the cool places to check out and I managed to get him into the PVD party so it was a give and take situation. That ended up being really cool because we got to meet a lot of high profile entertainment players like Michel who is an American living in India dealing with the local media. We also met a couple of socialites and at the end of the night we all went for a late night dinner. I find that when you visited some where whether it’s business or pleasure, if you really want to be absorbed in everything that’s going on, like the people, culture and vibe then you really need to get a grip of the locals. I don’t know what it is but I find that to be really easy, I’m just a people person and I can relate to a lot of the world. That’s something I have been doing in almost every country and it pays off.
The night life in India is constantly buzzing as they say over here, there is just so much going on and change is in the air. Every 6 months a new joint opens up or an old one takes on a new name and different vibe. The people I came across just happen to be big players but they gave me the boost I needed, “there is a lot of change going on in India” Michel told me, “and it’s up to you to either be a part of it, or watch it just change before your eyes”. Everywhere you look the world is concentrated on India and I can’t wait to see what this place looks like in a couple of years from now. I just hope they don’t lose the most important thing I found…the culture and energy.
A little off topic from the whole nightlife buzz…BOLLYWOOD!
The Diageo team had a massive and I mean MASSIVE surprise for us on our last day in India, now I know for the rest of the team it was just seeing something cool like meeting some actresses and actors from Bollywood while being on the set of a big movie, But for me it meant more. So they told us we were going to a Bollywood shoot with some class c and b actors so I didn’t think much of it. I tried and tried to tell them I wanted to meet my one love Rani Mukargee but that wasn’t going to happen. What I didn’t know is that they found some one equally meaningful Kareena Kapoor. Not only did I meet her but we took pictures while my eyes told her “I love you”. We also met Amrita who is a drop dead gorgeous actress and I kind of felt bad because when I was shaking Kareena’s hand I completely forgot about her and she was like “HI I’M AMRITA” oops… something to tell the kids when I'm 40. Seeing people up close that you watch on the TV is a crazy experience, especially Indian movies because they are so focused on love and music and I don’t know I just really get attached to the character. No movie in the world can get to me like a Bollywood film and I guess that’s why I love it so much, just don’t watch too much of it because it might take over your mind.
Morro Sao Paulo
If you need a honeymoon spot this is the place to be. Trust me, I have taken full advantage of this little island I call heaven. Morro Sao Paulo is an island off the coast of Salvador about two hours boat ride away, and if you are looking for the best way to get there I’ll suggest the speed boat. I don’t remember much of it because I had my head on a friend’s lap the whole time dying of speedboat sickness. As you get off the boat there are teams of men ready to take your baggage to your hotel, hut, apartment, or house what ever you fancy, but don’t get tricked on the price anything more then 20 Real (the currency there) is too much. Now, you might want to be the tough guy and take your own stuff however, there is a twist, no cars! Imagine an Island where there are no cars, no bus, no taxi, and no means for transportation. Nothing but your two feet and a lot of walking up and down, on beach sand that surrounds the island inside and out. It’s not as hard as it sounds, you can walk from one end to the next in under an hour and if you’re in the middle of the beach you’re fine. The food is well priced and there are enough restaurants to please the general public. At night the restaurant strips fill up with hundreds of candles setting the mood for a romantic dinner by the beach. Lets face it, this island is amazing from breathtaking sceneries, more than six beaches, activities that can keep you busy for a week, water so clear you can swim out for a kilometre and still see your feet, no pollution, food from all over the world, parties that go on until the sun comes up, and a lot of beautiful people who just want to party.
That’s my overall view of the whole place... so let’s keep on going. We checked into our rooms launched our bags on the floor and headed for the beach. Travelling around the world for the past six months has really made me a universal globetrotter and I feel like I can add a lot of credibility to what I report on. This beach was perfect; you need to keep in mind that most of the people on this beach are coming from the biggest party the world has to offer - Bahia’s Carnival. You would think 6 days of partying, people would take it easy…nope! The beach was full with people in the sun as their bodies took in the rays, leaving their skin that much darker. During the day that’s pretty much the scene: everyone chilling on the beach taking in to the sun waiting for the night to cover the sky.
I would love to say that I was one of those people who took it easy and just relaxed while I was there, however, you guys know me a bit better than that by now. By the end of the night we went for our first beach party mixed with music from the carnival and techno, tropical fruit drinks mixed with my favourite Smirnoff Red, and a jam-packed beach. What I liked about this party was that we were surrounded by the biggest bar I have ever seen, it was completely around the beach, sand, dance floor (Whatever you call it) surrounding us in a 360. They had it all from food, drinks, candy; anything your little heart desired they had it. While I was dancing looking at my friends I had one of those moments, I tend to have a lot of them on this trip but that’s expected. Anyways, I looked up and I could see nothing but a blanket of stars looking over us. It was one of those moments that you have to pause and think to your self what is going on? Take a deeeeeeeeep breath and take it all in. Good times.
Thoughts…
(I constantly get reminded how lucky I really am to see the things I get to see, plus who else is going to have stories I will? Remember when Bilbo Baggins from the Lord of the Rings travelled all over the world and encountered thousand of things and went on all these adventures, well I kind of feel like that sometimes and this is my adventure that I will soon be telling. Because the stories I will tell the world will live on forever. Some times I think about the years to come and if someone were to ask me “Hey Kareem, have you travelled?” Hahahahahha have I travelled? How do I answer that question? All have to make sure I have a lot of coffee and we’re sitting down, crazy no? I can’t even think about the day I go home, then again I don’t really want to think about it, as much as I can miss my family and friends it’s inevitable that one day this will all end, like everything in this mortal world. Telling my friends about this trip is just going to bring back all these memories… and I know I’m only six months into this but its halfway and six months is LONG! I feel like I have been gone for way more then just half a year. I can only imagine how I am going to feel when it’s all done and I am sleeping in my bed looking up to the ceiling wishing it had just started.
If that didn’t put you to sleep or make you feel like you wanted to kill me ,I’ll go on. During the week, one of Luiza's friends -who happens to be the son of a very wealthy family on this island - was having a massive foam party at his club. What I liked about his club was that it was half inside, half outside and living in Canada you just can’t do that, at least not with 30 centimetres of snow constantly falling on everything you own. South America on the other hand doesn’t have that problem it’s just beautiful weather all the time. It was about 3am and there was still no foam but the party keep on going until the sun came up. I guess that’s when the administration had enough and made an announcement. “Anyone who can go down to the beach and fetch some water to fill up the foam machine will get some free drinks” and just as I suspected within a few minutes the foam machine was on and there was foam as high as your chin. All in all it was a wicked night, we met some really cool people and went home soaking wet.
I didn’t explain to you why the foam machine was not working; well being on paradise island does have its ups and downs. I recall it happening twice and both times I was unlucky because I was at the wrong place at the wrong time. All of a sudden everything goes pitch black, no power, no Internet, no music, nothing. Now, that’s not the problem, the problem is no air conditioning. I can live without power I really can, I survived the ice storm that hit Canada in 97….I think it was 97….argh let me google it…. 98, I was close enough. Anyways, the ice storm hit us bad and we lived off of our fireplace for weeks. But that was winter and the weather was okay to deal with, being in Brazil with no power meant taking a shower as often as you could because it got really hot! I guess that’s what this modern technology is doing to us, making us extremely dependent on our luxuries and I am just another person suffering from my own depictions. There is always a bright light at the end of the tunnel right? Right…so this tragedy turned into a fairly tale, because as I walked to the beach in hunt for food I found myself on a beach covered with candles as far as the eye could see and every now and then there was a local holding a lantern to makes sure we all didn’t hurt ourselves. But what about the food? You would think that would be one of the major problems but they had that covered with wooded stoves, it was more meaningful items like ice and music you know, keeping things chilled. I know, it’s not the end of the world it only lasted half a day, but it was a good experience to see people partying down with the bare essentials.Some cool stuff I got to do while I was there was go on a trapeza rope where you basically climb to the top of the mountain and slide down a chain on a rope screaming your ass off. I also got the opportunity to rent my own boat for the day and spent it island hopping with a friend of mine. We managed to stop off in the middle of a river where there must have been 50 boats all in a circle, around a bar with cold drinks and music coming from one rich dudes yacht. What attracts such a big crowd is the natural swimming pool, the sand raises and you can take a swim with the local fish and enjoy the view. We spent pretty much the day sitting right in front of the boat with our feet out enjoying the breeze, going to old Portugese islands with massive historical dead towns and churches, and taking a walk along side a beach with a tour guide. Brazil you’ve done it again and that’s why you’re on my list as being the number one destination…so far.
There is so much more to this place but the beach parties are what attracts the masses of universal people travelling in search of a good people, music, drinks and hopefully the experience.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)