#6 - Rap Bua Festival, Samut Prakan
Colorful floats on water. Throngs of shouting, cheering people. Sounds like the usual fluvial
parade. But this is Thailand, and there is nothing unusual about the way they do things here. Held
near the end of the Buddhist rain retreat season, the Rap Bua is a taste of good old Thai Buddhist
tradition mixed with Disney-style pomp and pageantry.
It's also off the tourist-beaten path - despite its location right under the nose of Bangkok's
Savarnabhumi Airport - as I found out last October. Arriving in Thailand just as festival got
underway, my companion and I hailed a cab and sped off, luggage and all, to the district of Bang
Phli. We got there right in time for the fluvial parade, but by then the riverside was clogged with
people waiting to see the main event.
Here's where Amazing Thailand justifies its nickname. Upon seeing these foreigners with their big
cameras and bulging backpacks, the locals graciously made way. Chairs were given for us to
stand on, and before we knew it we were right at the water's edge, standing a head above the
crowd. And it got even better. The excitement was palpable when the floats appeared, and
everyone bowed in unison at the sight of their object of devotion: the Luang Pho Tho, a
centuries-old statue of the Buddha. Lotus buds were thrown in the air as the sacred image floated
by, and there we were, firing away with a camera in one hand and a bunch of round, pink flowers
in the other (the locals pressed them in our hands while we were busy shooting).
This was one of the precious few occasions when photographers weren't just observing. Our
coverage, of course, ended not with a click, but with a toss and a prayer.
#5 - The Dolphins of Ozamiz
If you think dolphins are fascinating, try swimming with them at the MOAP dolphin conservation
center, just outside Ozamiz City.
You don't know what the term "fish out of water" means until you get in there with these
creatures of the deep. They approach you in pairs, hurtling just beneath the surface like dark gray
torpedoes. Then they check you out, circling you while studying you with those big, black eyes.
Welcome to their world. Dare to duck your head underwater and you'll almost certainly find
yourself face-to-face with one. That unblinking look. That distinctive dolphin smile. That strange
flicker of recognition borne from being distant cousins in the same mammalian family. There's a
consciousness behind that dolphin face, and it's staring right back at you.
#4 - Shibuya Crossing, Tokyo
This was where they shot that climactic scene from "Lost in Translation", and believe me it looks
just like in the movie. When the traffic light says "go", Shibuya's main traffic junction literally
swarms with people crossing what must be Tokyo's busiest, glitziest intersection. But the main
attraction isn't just this sea of black-suited salarymen, anime-haired youngsters and Gucci-toting
sailormoon schoolgirls - it's the whole Sony-branded, Japanese-flavored futuristic scenery
replete with huge video walls, screaming Kanji neon and piped-in video game music from
speakers unseen. You want to experience modern Tokyo in twenty seconds? Go cross this street.
