DJ away

Fiat finds fun in Europe

By Suwitcha Chaiyong
Photos courtesy of Greenwave

DJ Toushanond Jarupatchanee (Fiat) is an avid traveller, so he was excited when he recently had a chance to visit Spain and Portugal with a group of radio listeners.

"I'm interested in art and culture, and these countries are very rich in culture," DJ Fiat said. "When I travel overseas, I'm interested in the small details in different places, like clothes, music, plants and even toothpaste."

OLD AND NEW

During his nine day trip, DJ Fiat visited many attractive landmarks, including the Plaza de España in Madrid and the Spanish cities of Toledo and Córdoba. In Portugal, DJ Fiat saw the capital city of Lisbon and the Sintra World Heritage Site. DJ Fiat was impressed with the way that the exquisite old European architecture blended seamlessly with modern technology.

"Plaza de España was built from beautiful old-style bricks, but there's a modern underground railway right next to it," he said. "And in the old former capital city Toledo, there was an escalator to take people up a steep mountain. I wish we could combine old architecture and modern technology like that in Thailand."

MIX AND MATCH

The Spanish Cathedral Mosque of Córdoba dazzled DJ Fiat with its extraordinary combination of Muslim mosque designs with those of a Christian cathedral. The building was originally a church, but was later turned into a mosque.

"I'd never seen anything like it before," DJ Fiat said. "The interior design was very neat and you could see Christian and Islamic styles mixed together."

WONDERFUL WALK

The Portuguese world heritage site of Sintra was DJ Fiat's favourite town because of its adorable landmarks and enchanting streets.

"Sintra has many walking streets full of charming, friendly shops selling unique home-made products with incredible packaging," DJ Fiat said. "There's also a street that leads up to a castle on a hill. It's a beautiful town."

STREET LIFE

DJ Fiat was also impressed with the street performers that he saw in both Spain and Portugal.

"There were full bands playing professionally on the streets," he said. "I also saw lots of human statues, where people paint their bodies and pose still as if they're living statues."

BITTER SWEET

While he was in Portugal, DJ Fiat was excited to taste the thong yod and foi thong deserts, which originated in Portugal. Unfortunately, he was a bit disappointed with the taste.

"These desserts came to Thailand when Portugal was expanding their colonial empire in the past," DJ Fiat said. "But despite looking similar, the Portuguese thong yod and foi thong were too sweet and not as delicious as the Thai versions."

TIME OUT

DJ Fiat said he was sad to end his trip, and that he would love to go back to Spain and Portugal again.

"It was a lovely trip and I really wanted to stay longer," he said. "There are so many things to explore, especially in Lisbon. I wish we'd had more time there!"