A Simple Twist of Fate.

Last night, the Guest House I stay in, Neo Court was invaded by a group of international troubadours who are actually busking Asia! There are three excellent guitarists playing Gypsy Jazz and Flamenco on their small bodied Spanish guitars and one of them, Roland who actually comes from the town I live in (Cologne, Germany) is making a street puppet show as well, and this is what he had to say:

Asians are very generous unlike the bourgeois Europeans and busking in markets and on the streets in Thailand is tolerated because we are artists. Mostly you get permission to busk and the police turn a blind eye to it. Busking is becoming a new trend over here, whereas in Europe it has sadly fallen into a decline.

Later the same evening, we visited a Jazz bar and listened to some excellent Thai musicians playing John McGlaughlin style which would have been unheard of 15 years ago. Having met a fellow travelling performer it has

given me new strength and courage to do my magic here without fear of being arrested. I look forward to seeing how he manages at the Sunday Market.