Julia Sy
Professor Jillian Tan
ENG 11 R42
6 August 2013 Cultural And Gender Diversity in the Cabaret Right after the final examinations of my senior year in high school, my mom decided to take a short weekend trip to Thailand. She had booked a ticket to Bangkok, and made plans for the both of us, including my sister and my aunt who met us up in Thailand, to stay at this apartment-hotel at Wireless Road, which was conveniently across Central Chidlom department store, a mall in Bangkok that we all surely enjoyed. Surprisingly, the highlight of my trip to Thailand was not the cheap deals in Platinum mall, or the small buys in the Chatuchak market, neither was it the coconut ice cream in the Damnoen Saduak floating market, or the delicious Pad Thai at the Mandarin Oriental. The most exciting and interesting part of that weekend would definitely be the Calypso Cabaret show that I had the opportunity to watch on the second night of our stay in Bangkok. It had always been a dream of mine to ride an elephant and take pictures with one, which I was so delighted to have experienced at the Elephant Village. But I was convinced at the end of the trip, that the hour and a half performance of the transvestite dancers and singers of the Calypso Cabaret certainly made my trip to Thailand unusually significant and absolutely memorable. Watching the cabaret show was certainly a last minute decision that was influenced by the very convincing concierge at the Oriental Residences who had told us about this famous tourist destination. Apparently, Calypso Cabaret is one of the longest running shows in Thailand, that for 25 years, people from all over the world have gone to Asiatique the Riverfront, to watch Thai transgender artists perform numerous song and dance numbers. With only that limited information about the show, the four of us agreed that this would actually be quite interesting and entertaining to Sy
References: Dehart, Jonathan. "Thai Transgender Community Finds Its Voice." The Diplomat. N.p., 13 Feb. 2013. Web. 07 Aug. 2013. "Bangkok: Calypso Cabaret." - TripAdvisor. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Aug. 2013. "ABOUT CALYPSO : New Calypso Bangkok Entertainment Co.,Ltd." ABOUT CALYPSO : New Calypso Bangkok Entertainment Co.,Ltd. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Aug. 2013.