Asian Festival
Trip Start
Mar 12, 2010
1
9
35
Trip End
Nov 18, 2010
Koshigaya, Kanto, Japan
Saturday, April 24, 2010
For lunch, I skipped the Thai food because I was determined to try the salmon pancakes I had seen on my first trip to the mall. It might have been delicious stuffed inside of a savory crepe. Unfortunately, the salmon was wedged with avocado and mayonnaise between two ordinary, sweet pancakes. I don't think I'd have it again, but I might go back for some nice strawberry or lemon pancakes.
After lunch, it was time to check out the stage. Two of the acts were standard performers: a singer and a dance group. A Japanese singer sang a selection of traditional Thai songs. Most of the songs were in Thai, a couple were in Japanese. I didn't understand any of them, but I liked the way they sounded. The dance group was also composed entirely of Japanese dancers, but the style was Thai.
The third act was something I had never seen before. It was a demonstration of a Thai sport called "Sepak takraw". It seemed a lot like volleyball, with two teams batting a ball back and forth over a high net, except the ball was closer to softball size. And there was one more catch, players couldn't use their hands. The process of spiking the ball was very impressive. Players jumped several feet in the air and twisted their bodies parallel to the ground while raising one of their feet high above their bodies to kick the ball down with a significant amount of force and speed. It looked like fun, but I think I'd need to start with a tennis net, or a giant trampoline.
