The country
picture credit : @siavach
Only one trip to the Kingdom of Siam and you will come back every year to visit the wonderful royal cities that overhang the Mekong. Whatever your desires and tastes are, Thailand will satisfy them. It is the same for the enthusiasts of the Salsa.
Above all, even though we dancers do not focus much on these points, know that dance and couple dances in particular do not have the same definition all over the world. Indeed, in France, Salsa (as an extension of couple dances) is primarily a popular leisure, affecting all social classes. Sorry for those who thought that the Salsa in France is a meeting of stilted people in suits and evening dresses 😅. To be convinced of this, it is enough to see the popular roots of our passion on the side of the 19th century "guinguettes" or more distant folk dances.
The point I want to make is that Salsa in Thailand finally left the same impression as when I went to dance in Tunisia. Indeed, whether in Chiang Mai or Bangkok, I found myself in very stilted places, even VIP, with a very upper class population. But do not worry, let's talk about Salsa party with Thai sauce.
Chiang Mai
I will start with salsa in Chiang Mai. In fact if you like nature, elephant rides, treks in the forest and in the middle of the rice fields, your road will pass through this city which is the second largest of the Kingdom. To dance, you will have to join the Facebook groups here
For my part, I tested the party at the WarmUp Café: a nightclub / restaurant / bar / concert hall. Indeed, Thai people are fans of live music, you will find it everywhere ... even in nightclubs. Inside on the left, there is a small room of about 150m², air-conditioned (important detail given the degree of hygrometry close to 95%). The animation is assumed by Mario behind the mic, a very nice Italian. The party without reaching follies was frankly pleasant and I could dance with English, Swedish, two Americans and especially Thai girls. In terme of level, we do not reach the moon but let's say it is not too bad. Salsa in Thailand is essentially LA style. That said, most girls are not reluctant to leave their line if you are inclined to do without Vacilala ... That is what could be called a good deal 😉
picture credit @siavach
Sita, the teacher of the party (yes because the party begins with classes starting in LA Style) dance wonderfully well and is especially a beautiful woman. Do not hesitate to invite her. the last but not the least, the evening is accessible by means of an entrance of 150 bath (about 3.5 euros) which will not seem unreasonable. I do not remember the prices of drinks but they are not excessive for as much ... at least for tourists because for a Thai this represents the equivalent of about 15 euros (I take for comparison a sandwich that I compare to the star of local snacks: the padthai).
Bangkok
Following this so enjoyable city, I went to the bars of Bangkok. As soon as I can tell you, I only got out on Monday night. In general, whether in New York, Paris or Tokyo, Monday evenings are not necessarily the most representative of the local Latino atmosphere. Second important point, it was an dominated bachata party.
The party takes place every Monday evening on the rooftop of the FourPoint By Sheraton. A hotel in the hot Sukhumvit district, located not far from Ladyboy's exclusive hostess bars and massage parlors, as much to warn you, put on your glasses the guys before going out otherwise bad surprise in perspective! The place is simply sublime. On the rooftop of the hotel, swimming pool on your right, a nice bar on your left. Here there is no entrance fee, but the price of drinks is affected. As for the music, a lot of bachata interspersed with a nice salsa mix of the romantica and some timbas. Nice evening, good atmosphere and girls ... how to say ... to fall!
picture credit : @siavach
The party stops at midnight, plan to come as early as 9 pm because at 11 pm there is already a lot of people. In all, there were about 30 dancers which seemed to me honorable for my last evening in the country. This night, the teacher of the dance school celebrated her birthday. One evening, again, not necessarily unforgettable nevertheless quite disorienting all the same. Here is a link for regular parties in Bangkok.
As I said in the introduction, the point to remember is that in Thailand, salsa is a fairly bourgeois activity, which is why it was not the Salsa that attracted me most in this country. Not enough "roots" for my taste. Despite everything it is always nice to dance with people from other countries and share the same passion and speak the moment of a dance the same language.
Salsally