Monthly Archives: May 2011

Waboba Asia Video Competition: Random Inspiration #1

by . Posted on

The closing date for entry to the Waboba Asia Video Competition is September 10. That means you have the whole glorious summer to come up with something. To get you in the spirit, here’s a little piece of random inspiration from Vimeo, a great old video from Matt Harding. But where hell is he??

Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

The first prize in the Waboba Asia Video Competiton 2011 is a holiday in Phuket, including flights for two to Phuket from anywhere within Asia, plus two nights in a five-star hotel, plus $700 USD in cash. The competition rules are here.

Waboba Asia Video Competition – Win a Phuket Vacation

by . Posted on

Waboba Video Competition Winners

Thanks to the Mazzarella family, winners of the Waboba Asia Video Competition 2010, for sending us these photos from their weekend at the Hilton Sanya Resort and Spa.

The Mazzarellas won two nights at the Hilton plus 5000RMB in cash when they came first in the Waboba Asia Video Competition 2010. They have been so busy with their ski factory that it took them until now to find time to collect their prize. But we’re told they had an amazing time there with their visiting relatives from Italy.

If you like the sound of a free stay in a five-star hotel, you definitely need to enter our Waboba Asia Video Competition 2011.

This year’s prize consists of flights for two to Phuket from anywhere in Asia, plus two nights in a five-star hotel, plus $700 US in cash.

To enter the competition, you need to shoot a video up to three minutes long, upload it to a video website like YouTube, Tudou or Vimeo, and tell us about the video at competitions@waboba-asia.com.

The style of video is entirely up to you. It can be arty, sporty, fast, funny, but it must have the Waboba Ball in there somewhere, preferably with it bouncing on water.

Here’s last year’s competition winner:

Life’s a Beach and a Ball on Vimeo.

Feeling inspired? Get your camera out and start shooting. This year’s full competition rules are available here.

Moonies Find Life’s a Gas on Thai Party Island

by . Posted on

The Bionic Salesman
A Journey around Thailand

Koh Phangan Full Moon Party

Koh Phangan

Birds fly south for the Winter. Salmon swim upriver to spawn. At full moon the lesser-spotted backpacker, doe-eyed and bulging with hormones, flocks to the island of Koh Phangan for a night of ritual jiggery, eyes wide and body painted day-glo technicolor rainbow.

The Wiki tells me that the monthly full moon parties on Koh Phangan’s Haad Rin Beach started in 1985 and grew quickly, to the point now where they routinely draw in as many as 30,000 revellers.

The party has got so big that it has spawned dozens of imitators, advertised on sign boards all over southern Thailand… the No Moon Party, the Half Moon Party, and my personal favourite, the “Ample Moon Party” (which presumably comes somewhere between half moon and full moon). But the full moon bash is still the original and best.

I was a bit late for me, not just because the party doesn’t really get going until midnight, but also because I am at the time of life where a full night’s sleep is just so much more appealing than a night of semi-naked gyration and waiting for the sun to rise.

So I skipped the party but bought the video of the party. I took in a pre-party party on Koh Samui, then went to bed, got up the next day and rode the ferry to Phangan to see what it’s like when all the island has a sore head. Continue reading →

Driving by Numbers

by . Posted on

The Bionic Salesman
A Journey around Thailand

So much for the rain. The newspapers were full of flood warnings as I set off on the second leg of my journey around Thailand, but it rained only three times on a three-week trip.

Those three rain storms all came on the first day as I drove down the east side to catch the ferry to Koh Samet. The rain came in blocks of sky, an aggravated shout that soon ran out of breath. For a while it was like driving through a liquidiser. Mostly, there was brilliant sun. Continue reading →