Daring To Be Different
This weekend, my hubby and I took a much needed break away from everyday life. We decided to join in on the Love Parade in San Francisco this Saturday. It is definitely not something Chhimi and I would do on a regular basis but it is different...and different was what we needed in our lives.
At first, there were apprehension within Chhimi doubting that we'll have a good time. Would it be a repeat of the disappointing Sacramento Brewery Festival or are we going to get caught up in something totally weird?! But with my stubborness, both of us trekked on. We took the SF Metro from Powell to Embarcadero... it took less than 5 minutes of riding but it seemed forever for both Chhimi and me. We looked around in the train...people were not smiling...people looked very grim...and us "country-bumkins" looked at each other questioning "what have we gotten ourselves into now?"
We arrived to our destination and the parade and floats were just getting ready...but our eyes immediately widen to take in the picture and our ears popped up to listen to the music. People were moving in the same direction ...and we overheard "who's paying for all this?"..."the city"....but the message was clear in this Love Parade. LOVE is universal and can be felt and heard through music. Such a simple message yet so complicated in all the costumes and music blarring from the floats. Some may think this is just another excuse to have a moving block party...some may think this is a wanna-be Berlin, where the parade was originated, but to Chhimi and I, it was something different and lively for us compared to our usual workdays and weekends...or so we think.
We were a couple of "yuppies" dressed in khakis and buttoned shirts...gosh! We felt out of place in a sea of color from orange to red to green to pink to yellow....and all the different fabrics...sequins, see-thru nettings, silk, furry tops. But nobody cared that we were different from them, people still danced and posed for Chhimi's lil' camera.
We even joined in with the parade after a while and walked with the sea of new friends we've met and danced with. Bystanders from the passing bars would cheer and yell and some actually decided to join in too. We saw couples kissing each other affectionately, a guy flirting with a girl and giving his number to her, 2 way old guys marching naked with the parade, strange floats of bunnies without a purpose, strange nature lovers with branches sticking to their backs on bicycles, half-naked men with long blonde hair, and body-painted women letting them hang. Chhimi and I went from float to float for a some time dancing to the music and as the parade neared SBC park, we had to stop and rest. Our legs were killing us by then...so we decided to resume our roles as observers as the parade rolled on by....and of course, Chhimi also ran out of memory to take more pictures of.
Daring to be different was great! We had a fabulous time and didn't know we had it in ourselves to party with the Love Parade. However, dinner time, both Chhimi and I were soo tired that we decided to head back to the hotel and sooked in their Jacuzzi. It was now our turn to relax from a crazy day.
At first, there were apprehension within Chhimi doubting that we'll have a good time. Would it be a repeat of the disappointing Sacramento Brewery Festival or are we going to get caught up in something totally weird?! But with my stubborness, both of us trekked on. We took the SF Metro from Powell to Embarcadero... it took less than 5 minutes of riding but it seemed forever for both Chhimi and me. We looked around in the train...people were not smiling...people looked very grim...and us "country-bumkins" looked at each other questioning "what have we gotten ourselves into now?"
We arrived to our destination and the parade and floats were just getting ready...but our eyes immediately widen to take in the picture and our ears popped up to listen to the music. People were moving in the same direction ...and we overheard "who's paying for all this?"..."the city"....but the message was clear in this Love Parade. LOVE is universal and can be felt and heard through music. Such a simple message yet so complicated in all the costumes and music blarring from the floats. Some may think this is just another excuse to have a moving block party...some may think this is a wanna-be Berlin, where the parade was originated, but to Chhimi and I, it was something different and lively for us compared to our usual workdays and weekends...or so we think.
We were a couple of "yuppies" dressed in khakis and buttoned shirts...gosh! We felt out of place in a sea of color from orange to red to green to pink to yellow....and all the different fabrics...sequins, see-thru nettings, silk, furry tops. But nobody cared that we were different from them, people still danced and posed for Chhimi's lil' camera.
We even joined in with the parade after a while and walked with the sea of new friends we've met and danced with. Bystanders from the passing bars would cheer and yell and some actually decided to join in too. We saw couples kissing each other affectionately, a guy flirting with a girl and giving his number to her, 2 way old guys marching naked with the parade, strange floats of bunnies without a purpose, strange nature lovers with branches sticking to their backs on bicycles, half-naked men with long blonde hair, and body-painted women letting them hang. Chhimi and I went from float to float for a some time dancing to the music and as the parade neared SBC park, we had to stop and rest. Our legs were killing us by then...so we decided to resume our roles as observers as the parade rolled on by....and of course, Chhimi also ran out of memory to take more pictures of.
Daring to be different was great! We had a fabulous time and didn't know we had it in ourselves to party with the Love Parade. However, dinner time, both Chhimi and I were soo tired that we decided to head back to the hotel and sooked in their Jacuzzi. It was now our turn to relax from a crazy day.
