Christmas and New Year's in Thailand

I was dreading spending Christmas in Thailand. Yes, I made the decision to stay here, knowing I would miss all of the traditions and family activities and general holiday cheer that makes me adore the holiday season. But, after last year's exhausting whirlwind tour of the Northeast (which was very nice but left me with a horrible cold and an even worse layover in China), I decided to stay here, spending my time touring Laos and relaxing a bit around the holidays. For the first few weeks between Halloween and Thanksgiving, I pretended Christmas was not imminent, despite the lights, decorations, and holiday music that surrounded me even in Thailand.

This lasted until the first week of Advent, the official start of the church Christmas season. We started church with a few holiday songs and I was hooked. And then I went a little Christmas crazy! So here are a few pics from my holiday season in sunny, warm Bangkok with my friend Samhitha to celebrate Christmas and New Year's with me!

It started with caroling on the river...

And then a Christmas tree, garland, and a Santa hat!

Plus some tasteful decorations in JJ market

Celebrating post-Christmas with Amelia and Samhitha, drinking some refreshing Pepsi in JJ market

And then getting a pedicure at MBK

I thought of getting some Krispy Kremes... but the 3 month line keeps growing!

So, instead, we rewarded our long day of shopping and manicuring with some Swensons ice cream!

Making my own "brew" of coffee

Nothing if not resourceful...

Getting ready to ring in the New Year at Central World

Just in case you didn't know, it's the Year of the Rabbit... now put up those bunny ears!!!

And, of course, you need your faithful dog...

Happy New Year!!!

Reasons I love Thailand - part 2

I think I was on number 5 in my last post... so here are number 6 and 7.

6. When was the last time you thought it was chilly at 22 degrees Celcius (72F)? Yes, today I went to leave my apartment and was surprised when it was chilly outside. I went back inside to get a jacket. There are two things that are lovely about what happened. First, the weather is typically so consistent here that I don't check the weather forecast - during the hot season, it's incredibly hot and I wear light clothes; during the rainy season, it's a little less hot and I wear light clothes and bring an umbrella; during the dry season, it's just hot and I wear light clothes. Second, I can feel refreshed when the temperature drops below 23 Celcius/73F (and keep my A/C at 27 degrees Celcius/81F (when I use it) and feel very comfortable).

7. I just got a "gentle reminder" email. When was the last time you got a message with the subject "gentle reminder" rather than "MEETING: 12 NOON, COMMUNITY CLINIC"? Really, which one looks nicer? Maybe this is why Thailand is the Land of Smiles?

Me, enjoying the beach at Hua Hin 

My awesome Christmas tree! (it's even better now because I bought flashing lights!)

Reasons I love Thailand

Since all of the news that seems to be coming out of Thailand sounds bad, I thought I might post just a few of the many reasons why I love Thailand. Some you've probably heard before; others show the uniqueness (and quirkiness) of "Amazing Thailand."

1. So I'll start with the obvious - Thailand is a great place to live because it's also a tourist destination, with some of the best SCUBA and snorkeling sites in the world. It's also a place of great cultural and historical relevance.
2. Holidays galore - I mentioned this in a previous post, but in Thailand, they love holidays and accept holidays such as Christmas and Halloween with a fervor I've only seen in places like Bethlehem, PA, or Salem, Massachusetts. Plus, there's Thai New Year (Songkran), many Buddhist holidays, and royal holidays (King's birthday, Queen's birthday, Coronation Day).
3. Another famous reason - the food (and drink). I'm completely addicted to chaa yen (Thai iced tea) and there is no end of tropical fruits (mangoes, guava, lychee, rambutans, mangosteins, watermelon, oranges, papayas, pineapple... durian). Plus, I've started craving noodles and rice, and completely eliminated the use of knives in my eating habits.
4. A little, strange reason - privacy and consideration in public bathrooms. The stalls are more room-like (lower on the bottom and higher at the top, so you can't look under to see who's in there), there's a hose next to the toilet bowl that people use to cover up bad sounds (really, who likes to hear someone else pooping?), and today someone came into the bathroom, spritzed it with air freshener before using the toilet. Plus they're usually SUPER clean.
5. Thai people are polite and friendly - best exemplified by the craziness of Songkran. Before people splashed me with freezing cold water or luke-warm moat water, they would say "excuse me." Or apologize after. Plus, there's no one word for "no" in Thai. If you want to say "no" you have to pay attention to what the other person said. For example, if you ask someone if they like Thailand (choop muangthai?), they can't just say no - they have to say "no like" (mai choop). Which is annoying for someone learning Thai, but an interesting cultural phenomenon. And, as far as I know (with my limited Thai), if you want to say something is bad, you say it's not good (mai dii).

Quick protest update: The hopes of last week's reconciliation plan, proposed by the PM (Abhisit Vejjajjiva), were doused after red shirt leaders proposed their "Red Plan," demanding a firm date of Parliament's dissolution, the surrender of the deputy prime minister to the police (which he may or may not have done, depending on whether you consider the Department of Special Investigation part of the police and not a political tool), and the immediate withdrawal of police and soldiers from around the rally site. In response, the government (after a week of red shirt procrastination) demanded the protesters leave or they would shut off electricity, water and phone service to the area (leaving businesses and residents scrambling). The utilities are still on at the protest site, despite the ultimatum and a "crackdown" by the government is predicted to be imminent (although that threat has been popping up for the past month or so). None of this really affects me - in fact, the soldiers who had been posted along the Asoke Skywalk have stopped patrolling during the day, so my daily routine is still unaffected. Here's an interesting article in the Bangkok Post - an opinion.