Date with a dream

By Cai Shanshan (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-07-06 14:16

A bar at Hua Hin town [chinadaily.com.cn]

Caught in the bustling atmosphere of the night market, I stopped and asked in my awkward Thai,“Tao Rai (How much)?” inquiring about the price of a bamboo handbag which is a rarity in the northern part of China where I come from.

And then I finally felt the same “inconvenience” that foreigners suffer in China.

Failing to bargain down the price, I trudged to the beach which was staging the opening night show packed with people.

There is nothing better than to stage a jazz show on the beach front, especially in an evening with bright and clear moonlight as backdrop. Seeing a full and bright moon rise from the sea, a line from Wang yue huai yuan (Thinking of my lover afar when watching the moon) by poet Zhang Jiuling from Tang Dynasty came to me.

“The bright moon rises from the sea. Thou at far are enjoying it with me? (Hai shang sheng ming yue, tian ya gong ci shi)”

With clear moonlight, breeze from the sea, a light sound made by the waves, a soft and smooth female voice from the stage, it was the most harmonious tune I have ever heard.

“Performing here, on the beach is so exciting. The sea, the beach and the romance in the air—it’s perfect,” the singer from the British jazz band SHAKATAK said during her show on the second night (June 13).

The festival turned the beach into a joyful ocean with musicians passionately performing on the stage, music lovers cheering and dancing, and vendors peddling snacks and cushions for people to sit on the sand. A big swaying balloon radiating in the air just added the festivity to it.

To better soak in the atmosphere, I bought a cushion and sat on the sandy ground enjoying the musical show all night. I was not a fan of jazz, to be honest, but the performance that night sounded not as ‘profound’ as I had expected. It was easier to listen to and kept my attention until the end.

Walking along the curving sandy beachside bare footedly under blue sky and white cloud in the second morning was another worth-talking about part during my two-day stay in Hua Hin.

Although it was only half an hour there due to the burning heat, the tranquility and peace I got from it made my first ‘beach experience’ intact.

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