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December 2010

Abu Dhabi F1 Yas Marina circuit Ferrari McLaren Red bull race cars

UAE 2010 (once again) Day 2 – Ferrari World, Abu Dhabi F1 and Linkin Park concert

Date: 13th November 2010

If you are wondering “Errr…. where’s Day 1?,” well, I wanted to push this one out because it contains a large chunk of why I was in  Dubai and Abu Dhabi for a second time this year. Long story short, I won a contest on VH1 to fly all the way to Abu Dhabi during F1 weekend to watch Linkin Park, one of my favourite bands, live in concert.

All the details of how I got here will be in the Day 1 post. [EDIT: Day 1 is now live]

Since we had shopped a bit yesterday, we had to spend the morning trying to find a carton to fit all of our IKEA shopping. We met up with my friend Azhad who took us to a cargo shop to find us a large box. After we bought one, we made our way back and then headed out for lunch.

For lunch, Azhad took us to a Syrian restaurant in Al Rigga.

Aroos Damascus restaurant Al Rigga Deira Dubai
This was the restaurant
Aroos Damascus Syrian restaurant Al Rigga Deira shawarma
And that is a LOT of meat
Aroos Damascus tables outside Syrian restaurant Al Rigga Deira Dubai
Azhad and my brother Nithin at the table to the left

As fans of Arabian cuisine, we ordered a few items unaware of just how much food was coming our way.

Syrian Arab lentil soup dal
First up: Lentil soup (dal)
Aroos Damscus restaurant Al Rigga Deira starters Dubai
Then, salad and a diamond shaped bread
Fattoush salad Arab restaurant Dubai
Next, fattoush salad
Arab restaurant kuboos bread Deira Dubai
With healthy supply of kuboos (Arabian bread)
Arab restaurant fresh fruit juice kiwi
Then our juices (the green one’s Kiwi fruit; it’s what I ordered)
Arab restaurant hummus mutton
After that, our hummus with mutton kheema & grated almonds
Aroos Damascus restaurant Deira grilled chicken
…and finally, the ‘main course’ — one full grilled chicken

By the time our ‘main course’ arrived, my hunger was already taken care of. All I could think of was ‘how the hell we were going to finish that bird!’.

And just as we began to dig into it, I get a call. It was our taxi driver, for our pick up. We had to tell him to wait at least 15 minutes as we were having lunch… and that we had an entire chicken to go through.

Sadly, even 10 minutes in, we knew it was hopeless. We would have needed at least an hour of slow eating to finish all the food that was on our table. Or according to Azhad, we needed our friend Jassim.

The bill came to around Rs. 1200, very reasonable considering what we ordered was enough to feed 4 to 5 people. After we paid up, we quickly made our way back to our hotel where our taxi was waiting for us.

Now, we were expecting a taxi. We weren’t really expecting this:

Lincoln towncar black Dubai
This was our ride

Lincoln Towncar limo interiors
Not bad. Not bad at all.

We dashed off to Abu Dhabi via Sheikh Zayed Road.

Sheikh Zayed Road tunnel lights inside car

Sheikh Zayed Road tunnel light from inside carSheikh Zayed road from inside car

Emirates towers building from car
The Emirates twin towers
Sheikh Zayed road metro station
This is what Dubai’s metro stations look like
Sheikh Zayed road small building contruction
Construction activity has slowed down…
Sheikh Zayed Road Gloria hotel rooms for rent
… because there is still plenty of over-supply
Sheikh Zayed Road offices for lease
Still no takers

Sheikh Zayed road empty buildingThe real estate scene hasn’t seen much improvement since the last time I was here.

Sheikh Zayed Road leaving Dubai

Burj Al Arab from inside car
Burj Al Arab in the distance

Sheikh Zayed road Dubai Marina skyscrapersWe drove past the impressive Dubai Marina and entered Jebel Ali zone.

Sheikh zayed road Ibn Battuta Mall
Seen at Ibn Battuta Mall

Sheikh Zayed road Jebel Ali offices Jafza view 19 twin towers

Dubai Hummer stretch limo rent
Okay, so our limo wasn’t as pimp as this one…
Sheikh Zayed road radio tower
Not a whole lot to see on Sheikh Zayed road…
Sheikh Zayed road vehicles
… besides cars

Sheikh Zayed Road is one heck of a highway. For one, it’s really straight. So it’s filled with a lot of speeding cars. And despite being extremely wide, and UAE’s strict code on the way you drive — accidents are still common.

We lay witness to one one this trip.

A Toyota Yaris lost control, swerved right across two lanes, rams into a Mercedes convertible, and dangerously reverses back on to the highway. Everybody brakes. Fortunately we were slightly far behind and the Yaris did eventually come to a stand still.

Sheikh Zayed road accident Mercedes
The Merc that got rammed into
Sheikh Zayed road accident Toyota Yaris crashed
Dunno how he lost control

The police car quickly made its way towards the accident site…

Sheikh Zayed road accident truck overturn
…from *another* accident it was tending to

So yeah, just because you have awesome roads, don’t assume its accidents-free.

An hour-long drive later, we were in Abu Dhabi.

Getting to Ferrari World Abu Dhabi by taxi

IKEA Abu Dhabi near Yas Island Ferrari World
Damn you IKEA! Here too?!
Ferrari World La Rossa roller coaster
La Rossa — the fastest roller coaster ride in the world, part of Ferrari World

We actually asked our driver to drop us at Ferrari World because we had time and didn’t want to head to the Yas Marina Circuit so early. Plus I had to check it out, sine the last time I was, it was still under construction.

Ferrari World Abu Dhabi front side

Ferrari World mall entrance reception
The entrance leads you to a mini-mall
Ferrari World mall escalator stores
But a lot of stores were yet to open

Ferrari World Abu Dhabi main entranceInside Ferrari World Abu Dhabi entrance

Ferrari World Abu Dhabi main lobby
The ticket counter is to the right
Ferrari World Ferrari store Abu Dhabi
They have a pretty big Ferrari store to the left

Ferrari World Abu Dhabi Formula 1 model car

Ferrari World Abu Dhabi Formula 1 model car
This was in front of the Ferrari store

Ferrari World Abu Dhabi interiorsFerrari World Abu Dhabi main exit

Ferrari World Abu Dhabi gates to theme park
You pass these gates to enter the theme park

Ferrari World Abu Dhabi old Ferrari grand prix racing car

After checking out the store, I made my way to the ticket counter.  The tickets to Ferrari World come in ‘general’ and ‘premium’ classes — the only difference being the premium admission give you access to a VIP lounge. Otherwise the general admission costs AED225 (Rs. 2500) and entitles you to unlimited rides. Not bad, compared to how expensive other world class theme parks cost.

But I still felt compelled to ask the ticket receptionist if it was worthwhile if we went in today. She replied that we’d need at least 2 hours to go through the whole place (Ferrari World is the largest indoor theme park in the world). Also, the main attraction at Ferrari World: La Rossa — the fastest roller coaster in the world, wasn’t (let’s just say) functioning perfectly. There were stopping it intermittently to run check ups.


Now, I know Ferrari World had just opened during this year’s Grand Prix race, but I didn’t feel like paying AED225 to be a crash test dummy at 250 kmph. So I decided to skip it and check it out next year. Hopefully by then all the chinks are sorted out.

Ferrari World Abu Dhabi entrance hall
We made our way out
Ferrari World Abu Dhabi logo Mithun
That’s me ^_^
Ferrari World Abu Dhabi cascade walk
There was an open area we felt like checking out

Ferrari World fountains water walkFerrari World fountains water cascade outside mallFerrari World Abu Dhabi cascade walk waterFerrari World Cascade walk fountains waterFerrari World Abu Dhabi dome creekFerrari World Abu Dhabi cascade walk signFerrari World Abu Dhabi cascade open areaFerrari World Abu Dhabi cascade water fountains

Ferrari World cascade walk fountains Nithin
My brother Nithin

It was nearing 5pm at this point, so we decided to leave.

Ferrari World Abu Dhabi mall to entrance

Ferrari World bus to Yas Marina circuit
They had buses to Yas Marina Circuit
Inside bus to Yas Marina circuit Abu Dhabi
The buses go all around the circuit stopping at all the entry points
Entering North Stand Yas Marina Circuit
We got down at the North Gate entrance
Ferrari World Abu Dhabi road to Yas Marina
Which isn’t very far from Ferrari World

North Grand Stand Yas Marina circuit parkingEntering North Grand stand Yas Marina Circuit

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix F1 ear plugs guide
This is what you get as you pass the gates: ear plugs and a guide
Abu Dhabi F1 Yas Marina circuit Yasalam
This is where Linkin Park is going to perform

Abu Dhabi F1 Yas Marina circuit atmosphereAbu Dhabi F1 Yas Marina Circuit drag race displayAbu Dhabi F1 experience Yas Marina circuit eventsAbu Dhabi F1 Yas Marina circuit go karting

Abu Dhabi Yas Marina circuit sunset
It was time to go in

Abu Dhabi F1 Yas Marina circuit M gateAbu Dhabi F1 experience Yas Marina circuit drag carsAbu Dhabi F1 Yas Marina circuit drag racer

Abu Dhabi F1 Yas Marina circuit Yasalam Linkin Park stage
They were running a sound check and you could hear Chester test his vocals
Abu Dhabi F1 Yas Marina circuit North Grand stand lounge
This is the lounge area for North Grand Stand ticket holders

Abu Dhabi F1 Yas Marina circuit North stand

Yas Marina Circuit North Stand panorama view
This was the view from our seat

And this is the action we saw:

Our seats were great, we were at the grand stand at the North section of the track. The vantage point is a good one as you get to see the cars coming in from a distance (though in a matter seconds, they’re already at the turn) and then you have the long straight stretch where you get to see them accelerate.

First thing that really hits you is the noise. I experienced this during the Singapore F1 back in September. I loved it there, I loved it here as well. Of course, you have to love cars to to enjoy the sound of a lightning fast engine. Otherwise you’d be deemed ‘weird’.

Abu Dhabi F1 Yas Marina circuit north gate panorama

Abu Dhabi F1 Yas Marina Lewis Hamilton St. George flag
Since this was the crucial final race of the season, the Brits obviously had Lewis Hamilton’s back
Abu Dhabi F1 Yas Marina circuit north stand flags
Not that the Spaniards and Canadians were far behind
Abu Dhabi F1 Yas Marina circuit big screens
They had screens broadcasting the rest of the circuit

They had commentary on the speakers too, but because of the noise from the cars, you won’t hear it until the cars pass.

Abu Dhabi F1 Yas Marina circuit evening

Abu Dhabi F1 Yas Marina circuit Red Bull car
Red Bull racing was doing pretty well
Abu Dhabi F1 Yas Marina circuit Force India car
Force India wasn’t doing that bad either

Abu Dhabi F1 Yas Marina circuit Ferrari cornerAbu Dhabi F1 Yas Marina circuit Lotus carAfter seeing cars zipping by and listening to engines for nearly an hour, I went inside the lounge to have some of the gourmet food on offer.

Abu Dhabi F1 Yas Marina North Grand stand lounge food
Gourmet food in very tiny portions I might add. But you can take as much as you wanted.

The whole affair was very posh, with German waitresses and what looked like local celebrities (or posh posers) in the lounge.

After having a bite and drink, as I walked back, I suddenly stopped. And I do mean suddenly stopped. I literally froze.

I turned to my left and in front of me were two guys. One, a fairly large, tattooed white bald white dude and next to him, a regular looking Asian guy, fairly tall. Dressed in formals, he looked like a guy who probably worked in an IT firm. I looked at him and they both looked back at me. The white dude  sitting next to him nodded as if to say: “No”.

But in my excitement, I said ‘hi’ and that I had one question to ask him. I began to prep the camera when he smiled and said: “No Interviews”. The bodyguard was about to get up so I put my camera away and just asked him. He answered and then I asked him if I could take a photograph. The bodyguard said “No,” but he said “It’s fine,” gave my camera to his bodyguard and asked him to take our photograph.

The bodyguard pressed the shutter and it didn’t click. The guy joked: “He’s not very good at this” and asked his bodyguard to take the shot again.

So who was the guy?

Mithun with Mike Shinoda Linkin Park Abu Dhabi F1
None other than Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park! The ONE guy I was hoping to meet!

I thanked Mike and told him how much I liked their new album and said: “Keep experimenting” to which he smiled and said “Thanks”.

First impressions. Wow, he’s taller than I thought (I’m 5′ 6″). Plus, he’s changed a lot since his Hybrid Theory days.

Oh, what was the one question I wanted to ask him and finally could?

“When is Linkin Park coming to India?”

Mike said they needed find the right promoter and figure out the logistics to try and cram it into their tour schedule. It wasn’t a very convincing answer so I asked him whether they had ever considered touring India, to which Mike replied: “Oh yeah! Of course!”. I told him Linkin Park has such a huge fan base in India and he nodded his head: “I know…” with a smile. He said it will happen and assured me the band would tour India — but he just couldn’t tell me when.

Oh well, at least he knows we’re dying to see the band live in India.

As I went back to my seat, I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. When I got the call from Vh1 telling me I had won, I was so hoping to meet the band. But I was informed there would be no meet & greet. And despite all that, I still got to meet the one guy I wanted to talk to. I know for a lot of girls its Chester Bennington, but for many hardcore LP fans, it’s Mike Shinoda — the unofficial spokesperson and leader of the band.

I told my brother Mike Shinoda was inside and he got a glimpse of him too, but neither of us disturbed him again.

Abu Dhabi F1 Yas Marina circuit night race
The race was at its final laps

Abu Dhabi F1 Yas Marina circuit Ferrari McLaren Red bull race cars

Abu Dhabi F1 Yas Marina circuit at night
The qualifiers had ended; Vettel took pole postion with Lewis Hamilton in second
Abu Dhabi F1 Yas Marina circuit photographers
That’s the kind of lenses you need to cover an F1 race

We got up from our seats and went back into the lounge to get a good view of where we were heading next.

Abu Dhabi Yasalam Linkin Park concert venue
There were people already making a beeline for the concert gates

Abu Dhabi Yasalam after F1 race

As I walked out I saw Mike again… and Dave Farrell, the band’s bassist! Dave smiled at me and gave me a thumbs up, probably after noticing my Linkin Park t-shirt and I wished him all the best for the show and that I was looking forward to it. I was tempted to ask for a photograph again but the bodyguard kept looking at me everytime I passed by. Oh well, he’s doing his job.

Walking towards the venue, I came prepared and fully charged with my camera and lenses… but unfortunately, there was dude announcing on the speakerphone that DSLRs and other high end cameras were not allowed in. Crap.

So, I hesitantly hand over my camera to the counter and make my through the gates. Hundreds were getting their alcohol (on sale for 21 and over only) and though there were a lot of people at the venue, everybody had enough space to move about freely.

Me and my brother chose a spot a bit far away from the speakers and right in the middle.

Yasalam Linkin Park Abu Dhabi concert panorama
They were showing promos of who all had come before… (yes, the Jonas Brothers were here before LP)

We could have gone further up front but I was going to be recording videos on my phone and staying too close to the speakers only meant “brrrrr brrrr” in recordings.

The stage itself, as you can see above, was quite impressive.

Abu Dhabi Formula 1 Linkin Park concert warm up
They had a DJ spin out some good hip hop to warm up the crowd.

After half an hour or so, the DJ leaves the stage. The crew come on, clear everything and the crowd begin to cheer. A lighting rig comes all the way down, two guys get into seats on either side and the rig goes up again.

Abu Dhabi Formula 1 Linkin Park concert stage setupAfter some more waiting, finally, the show begins:

They opened with The Catalyst, the first single off their latest album A Thousand Suns.

Abu Dhabi Formula 1 Linkin Park concert
After that, the crowd went crazy for the next song

And when I mean ‘crowd,’ I mean me, my brother and a few young Arabs around me. I was seriously aghast the whole crowd wasn’t jumping up & down.

But then again I reminded my self that this concert was only open to Formula 1 ticket holders, most of whom were 30-plus. Not exactly your core Linkin Park fanbase.

Abu Dhabi formula 1 Linkin Park concert chester on stage
Man, Chester can scream his face off!

I didn’t record every song in full, intentionally. I had to conserve my phone battery and I didn’t feel right about recording the entire concert as though I was going to bootleg this or something.

Abu Dhabi Formula 1 Linkin Park concert Mike Shinoda
“Hey, I met that guy!” 😛
Abu Dhabi Formula 1 Linkin Park concert Joe Hahn
The awesome Mr. Hahn

Abu Dhabi Formula 1 Linkin Park concert Chester Bennington

Of course, some songs I had to record in full.

Abu Dhabi Formula 1 Linkin Park concert stage lights
The lighting was just as good as the music

This was the ending set:


After a very brief break, the band were back on stage for the encore.

Abu Dhabi Formula 1 Linkin Park concert band stage

First, they performed one of my favourite songs from the new album:

…before closing out the show with some more of their biggest hits!

Nearly an hour and 45 minutes later, the show was over. In that time, they played pretty much all their singles (except for “Breaking the Habit“). The band said their goodbyes and left the stage. Everyone except Mike Shinoda that is, who would spend nearly 10 minutes or so shaking hands and greeting fans in the front row. What an awesome guy.

We left Yasalam, collected my camera bag and managed to contact our taxi driver who had come all the way from Dubai to pick us up.

Abu Dhabi Formula one buses after race
They had plenty of buses plying from the venue to Abu Dhbai city and Dubai
Abu Dhabi Formula 1 bus service to city
But there were quite a lot of people queuing up for them
Abu Dhabi Formula 1 Ferrari world at night
We had nothing to worry about…
Inside Toyota Previa taxi Abu Dhabi
… ‘cos we had comfortable private ride back to Dubai. Tee hee.
Leaving Yas Marina circuit Abu Dhabi
It was past 11pm, time to leave Yas Marina Circuit and Abu Dhabi

As we drove back, I couldn’t help but think back on the past few hours. Sure, we were tired as hell, but what a weekend! Landed in Dubai yesterday, went around, shopped, today witnessed a Formula One race on a Rs. 40, 000 ticket (which we got for free) and then watched one of my favourite bands perform live (again, for free)! But most of all, the moment that did it for me, I met Mike Shinoda and got a photo with him! That was good enough.

On one hand, I enjoyed a evening with a decent crowd with no pushing or shoving and an amazing stage setup. On the other hand, the concert could have used a better crowd. But thinking about it, I can’t fathom how much I would have hated the first Linkin Park concert in India — with thousands of their young fans who are going to go absolutely apeshit because they waited for so long to finally get a glimpse of their rock idols. (I pray Linkin Park plays at least 3 venues when they land in India)

Every artist uses the “We’ll be back” line at the end of their concerts. Some do, some don’t. Linkin Park will be back in UAE for sure. And next time, it will surely be for their real UAE fans at some event more suitable like the Desert Rock Festival or a stand alone concert.

Dubai driving Sheikh Zayed road night
An hour of cruising at a 100kmph later, we were in Dubai

Once back in our hotel, we quickly went out again to grab some shawarmas and some juice for dinner. We didn’t have anything planned for tomorrow other than packing and heading to the hotel.

Yeah, it would have been nice if we could have stayed back one more day, saw the Sunday race and watched Prince perform afterwards. (We had tickets for all 4 days; Kanye West performed on Friday but we couldn’t have been bothered to drive all the way to Dubai for his inflated ego). But I just couldn’t afford to. I had to head back to office on Monday and then on Tuesday night, had to catch my postponed flight to Thailand for my next trip.

All in all, a hectic but memorable experience.

Oh, and finally, thanks VH1 India! (Especially Aparna)


Jay Park live in Bangkok: First Step in Thailand fan meet (Fancam)

Though I spent 13 days in Thailand, I thought I’d get this story out first.

When I won the contest to go see Linkin Park live in Abu Dhabi during the F1, I had to postpone by trip to Thailand. At first, the dates were Nov 17th to Nov 28th, a Sunday, so I could get back to work on a Monday. Then I heard about Jay Park’s fan meet happening in Bangkok — so I pushed my return date to the 29th!

Jay Jaebeom Park Korean star profile
Jay Park

Now, if you’re someone who reads my blog or is wondering, who the hell this guy I pushed my dates for is, here’s a brief intro on Jay Park. Park Jaebeom, is a Korean-American (though more American than Korean) artist who gained fame when he became a member of a Korean boy band called 2PM. He was the group’s ‘leader’ and with their smash hit “Again & Again,” they were one of the hottest boy bands (both in terms of fame and appearance) in Asia.

And then, controversy. Apparently he said something on his Myspace page (back when people still used Myspace) about how much life in South Korea sucked (he’s a third generation Korean American born in the US) and that riled up a few Koreans. Demanding an apology, they asked for action to be taken against Jay Park. 2PM’s label said all is well but then a few months later, bad news. Jay Park is out of 2PM.

Fans are shocked. Mostly because JYP didn’t make it public as to why he was “fired” from the group. All that was mentioned was that he did something worse than saying “South Korea sucks”. What it was, nobody knows… which pissed off fans even more.

Jay Park soon left South Korea and made his way back to his home town in the US. Tears were shed at Incheon Airport by 2PM fans but to no avail. “Leader” Jaebom Park was officially out of 2PM, and the country.

Months pass and no word on what the guy is up to. And then, he pops up on YouTube and decides to sing a cover of “Nothin’ On You,” the then fresh single by debut rapper B.O.B featuring Bruno Mars. His version became sooo popular that he actually released a version of his own and a Korean version of the same featuring B.O.B.

Jay Park is now signed to Sidus Entertainment, another Korean agency and announces he’s going to be appearing in a dance flick called Hype Nation out in 2011. Jay Park has always said he loves b-boying more than anything so it seemed like a natural fit that he stars in a movie on the same (though, its not like there hasn’t been others).

So when did I become a fan? When he teased a single from the movie called “Demon”. I can’t really share a link or anything… because the single hasn’t been released yet.

I heard it for the first time back in August I believe and since then, the initial performances have been since removed from YouTube. It was from a performance he had done in South Korea and the audio wasn’t very good. But even despite that, from what I heard, I loved it! It’s a killer track!

Produced by the legendary Teddy Riley, “Demon” was a song originally written for Michael Jackson, and now posthumously given to Jay Park. Either his label paid shit loads for the song — or even Teddy Riley realized Jay Park is destined for greatness and agreed to give him the song.

None the less, “Demon” is going to be featured on the soundtrack to Hype Nation, so I’m guessing the music video (even though they have already finished filming it) isn’t going to come out until a few months before the movie does.

Anyway, coming to the Thailand fan meet. I booked my ticket while I was in Chiang Mai and I opted for the 1000 baht (Rs. 1500/$33) seat because… well the guy hasn’t even got an album out, so I was going just to see him perform “Demon”. Plus, I didn’t want to sit so close to the speakers because when recording, the only audio I would have gotten would have been the thumping bass… plus a lot of girls screaming.

It was on the 28th of November, a Sunday evening, held at the Royal Paragon Hall — which is located on the 5th floor of the Siam Paragon mall in Bangkok city.  I got there by around 5pm as I had to collect my ticket. There was quite a line already.

Jay Park Thailand fan meet ticket lineJaywalkers were out in full force too.

Jay Park Jaywalkers Thai fansJay Park Jaywalkers Thai fans waitingJay Park Jaywalkers Thai fans t-shirt

Jay Park Thailand young fan
Even very young fans
Jay Park Thailand fan meet media
So were the media

Jay Park Thailand fan meet MTV interview

After standing in line for nearly 45 minutes, I make my way near the counter only to be told I only had to go to another counter for online bookings.

Jay Park Thailand fan meet tickets
All I had to do was come here

Oh well. Once ticket in hand, the next queue was for the security check. I came fully prepared with all my lenses, extra batteries, extra memory card and with my Canon 70-200 f2.8 in tow, I wasn’t worried about being so far away from the stage.

Unfortunately…

Jay Park Thailand fan meet no cameras
... they were taking away camera bags and DSLRs

But guess what, I put my bag on the other shoulder and made it past them! Woo hoo!

Unnnfortunately when it came to the gates, where security were checking handbags, they saw my DSLR and asked me to hand it over to the folks in charge of taking away cameras.

Crap.

I went in with lenses, but no camera body to fit those lenses onto. Well, at least I still had my phone.

Once inside, I got my seat. The hall wasn’t sold out, but had a very good turnout none the less.

Jay Park Thailand fan meet Royal Paragon Hall
Waiting for the show to start

At around 6:30pm, the lights go out. The crowd (mostly girls) start to scream! And then two Thai MCs come on stage. I obviously didn’t understand what they were saying but I’m pretty sure they were asking if the crowd was ready to see Jay Park. Obviously, we all were.

So the hall goes dark again. And then:

The girls sitting beside me were going crazy! This was a ‘sit down’ show, and in their excitement, I expected them to stand up to get a better view. But they didn’t. They were just jumping and shaking in their chairs. I couldn’t help but laugh!

Anyway, after kicking off the show with his cover of “Nothin’ On You,” the lights dimmed once again and then a video came on screen:

After hearing the song (twice) I essentially came for, I felt satisfied.Yeah, I didn’t manage to get the best recording, so if you want a closer look, check this or this one out instead.

After the performance, Jay came back on stage and was joined by the two Thai MCs for a Q & A session.

Sadly, that’s all I could record. Security came by and told me to stop recording — and then went around telling everybody else the same. They were pretty strict about it henceforth.

During the Q & A, the questions were fairly childish and basic. Like what he likes to do in his free time, his hobbies, etc. Jay Park looked lost most of the time, mostly ‘lost’ in translation. The hosts didn’t seem well prepared either. Took ages for one of them to understand “bromance” and when it came selecting 3 girls to come on stage, oh boy, did that seem like ages.

Three lucky fans did get a chance to get up close with their idol though.

Jay Park Thailand fan meet lucky girls

One of them even got Jay to draw something for her, one of them got to squeeze his nose and the last girl got to hug him. There were fans who had come from Indonesia and Hong Kong; but since the guy who came from India was sitting all the way in the back, he wasn’t noticed :/

Jay Park was also joined on stage by his b-boy crew Art of Movement.

Jay Park Thailand fan meet AOM Q & A
Jay Park is right in the middle

The hosts were asking the audience what they’d like to know and when it came to asking for secrets about Jay Park, Cha Cha from the AOM crew said “Jay likes to bathes himself in hot sauce,” to which Jay LOL’d. Not quite sure if he meant Jay just loves hot sauce or he actually likes to smear hot sauce all over his body.

The crew left the stage and said they’d be back for their performance, which I was so looking forward to. When they did perform, the minute I raised my phone to try and record, the security came by my row. Sucks.

Anyway, it’s not like Art of Movement doesn’t have videos on YouTube.

There was also a performance by rap duo The Quiett & Dok 2. They performed two songs, along with the usual rap instructions: “Throw your hands up in the air” and “Say ‘Yeeeahhhh’…”. There were okay. Then Jay Park returned to the stage and joined the rap duo for a song.

Other songs Jay Park performed were “Speechless” with ChaCha (who wrote & produced it). Jay Park also hit the stage with a cover of Jay Sean’s “Down” and Usher’s “U Got It Bad”. The roof came down during “U Got It Bad” when towards the end, Jay Park finally did it — he ripped off his vest. I’m sure the girls got their money’s worth.

The last song Jay Park performed was “Bestie” and the entire AOM crew came on stage to join the performance.

After that, he and AOM said their goodbyes and left the stage. Immediately, some got up and began to run towards the exit. Maybe they just wanted to head home quickly or wanted to pick up their cameras. I know I sure wanted to, so I got up as well. And then the Thai MCs came back on stage.

Jay Park Thailand fan meet Thai MCsAgain, they were speaking Thai so I couldn’t understand but I got the drift they were asking if we enjoyed the show. Also, they pointed out to the fans making their way out as if to say “You’re leaving? You think it’s over?”

Guess what, it wasn’t! Jay Park along with the AOM crew hit the stage once again for a dance off…

Jay Park Thailand fan meet Art of Movement
... and all I have to show for it is this crappy cellphone photo. Sorry, but even now the security was looking at me.

After another stellar show of their dance skills, this time the show was actually over. And everybody knew it.

Jay Park first step in Thailand fans leaving
The show ended at around 8:30

After a good 2 hours of entertainment, I collected my camera and saw several fans queuing up again!

Jay Park Thailand meet & greet
There was going to be a meet & greet with Jay Park now

Of course, it wasn’t for everyone. It was open only to those who bought the most expensive tickets — 4500 baht (Rs. 6600/$150).

I wasn’t one of them, obviously, but I did finally get a chance to shoot with my 70-200mm lens.

Jay Park Thailand fan meet handing out posters
Every fan got an autographed poster & a chance to shake hands with Jay Park

Here’s just a few who were lucky:

Even though the fans were instructed not to get too physical or spend more than 2 seconds with Jay, some did manage to get what they wanted.

Jay Park Thailand greeting fan
And Jay Park gladly obliged
Jay Park Thailand fan meet young fan
This kid even got a hug from the burgeoning global star

After 15 minutes of shaking hands and receiving many, many gift bags from his loyal supporters, Jay Park finally said goodbye.

Jay Park Thailand fan meet thank you
First, a big "khob-kun-ka" ("thank you" in Thai) to his fans...
Jay Park Thailand fan meet goodbye
... and finally, lots of love.

With that, Jay Park left the building.

Jay Park Thailand first step in Thailand ticket
So was my ticket worth it?

Yes.

I pushed my dates just to see Jay Park for a reason. Ever since I heard “Demon” and started getting to know more about Jaebeom Park, the more I started to believe Jay Park is going to be a huge star. The guy can rap, sing and dance. He’s writing his own material with his friends in AOM and working with some of the biggest names in the music business.

Sure, the tickets were slightly expensive. But I can understand why. I can imagine how much it would have cost to not just bring Jay Park down, but his AOM friends as well (and not to mention his management staff too). Sure, I didn’t get to capture the event the way I had hoped to share it with everybody. It’s ok. I can understand if MTV paid for exclusive performance footage. It’s all business at the end of the day.

Sure, if I had a chance to ask him some questions, I would have asked him about his music. Like who are the other producers or artists he’s collaborating that we don’t know of yet. Or like, what date and time is “Demon” getting an official release! But I guess I’m in the minority. I’m a 28-year old guy who likes ‘Jay Park the artist’. Most Jaywalkers (mostly young girls) like him for his music, his 2PM legacy, his abs, his hair, his looks, his… anything!

And Jay Park knows that.

I know it’s too early to shower so much praise on a guy who hasn’t even come out with a full-fledged album yet, but I’m calling it now itself…

– Jay Park is going to be the break-out star of 2011

– won’t be surprised if “Demon” tops the Billboard Top 100

– the next big ‘Jay’ of Asian descent (the first being Jay Sean) and the first Korean-American solo singer to have a no. 1 single globally

I may end up being wrong of all the above, but even if I am, I still have faith in Jay Park’s talents. Even if he doesn’t crack the Western markets, he’ll still be crazy popular in Asia.

And I’ll still pay to see him perform. Maybe just a little bit more the next time.

P.S: He he, I even made an appearance on Thai television. Around the 0:53 mark ^_^

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