Bangkok is a special city. If you fall in love with it for the first time you get there, you will love it forever. It is a city, full of life, colors, flavors, excellent food, but also a city with extremely nice people (what else – hey, we’re in Thailand!). People in Bangkok are very kind and nice and you just have to love them. My first time in Bangkok was 5 years ago and I fell in love with the city immediately. Since then I am returning here from time to time and already feel like a part of me belongs to this city.
Bangkok is huge and everybody can find something to their taste. If you are a street food lover (like me, for instance), you just walk around and in no time you will find yourself in culinary heaven. You can literally eat anywhere and choose from the best food possible. When it comes to food, I agree with thousands of others: mango with sticky rice is really the best, and nothing can beat pad thai.
If you are a history lover, history is just about everywhere. The Grand Palace, numerous Buddhist monasteries, numerous Wats – just name it… You can walk around for days and you will still not see all of them. And of course, Bangkok is a city that never sleeps. In the evening, when the air cools down a bit, night life begins. Night clubs, restaurants, the famous Sky Bar with its magnificent views… All night long.
Bangkok is also a city where someone who loves tango can enjoy some beautiful evenings at milongas. The tango community in Bangkok is not as huge as the city itself, but it is a very nice one. I first met Bangkok tango scene earlier this year and I was immediately delighted how great the Bangkok tangueros are. Although they have tango in common, they are quite different. Some of them are Thai, some of them foreigners who have been living in Bangkok for a longer period of time, and there are always some tourists who come to the milongas when they are just visiting the city. You can even enjoy tango many times each week at different milongas or practicas.
The milonga I love the most is the most formal one and is organized by a very nice Thai/French couple of passionate tangueros, Lynn and Camille. They are seriously in love with tango and are working really hard to bring the real Buenos Aires milonga feeling to Bangkok. And they are very successful as their milonga is one of the nicest milongas I know.
Dancers are very good, the organizers are very nice, the ambiance is very beautiful – what else would you possibly need? So, after my first DJ-ing at this Saturday milonga by Lynn I got to know the people and I really like them. It is actually not possible not to like people who live on the other side of the world and share the same passion for tango as myself. I am very proud that they like my work and that they invite me to play music each time I happen to be in Bangkok. And my evenings at this Bangkok milonga are really something very special.
If you are curious about Bangkok tango scene, you can have a look at this short video, taken at my favorite Saturday milonga by Lynn. I enjoyed it a lot, I hope you will enjoy it too.
Tango DJ Alenka