Well, I spend Christmas in Bangkok. Went to midnight mass at the church I've been attending since moving here. I actually got there early on Christmas Eve and sat in on a Thai mass. It was interesting, pretty much the same as an English mass, just a different language. Both masses were packed. I got into a pew in the front of church and they kept cramming more people into the pew. No big deal, that was exactly like being back home.
The main difference was that it was still hot. At midnight mass on Christmas Eve, I'm sweating. I kept playing Christmas Carols on my computer to get me into the mood, but I couldn't help but chuckle every time Bing Crosby came on and told me, "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas." It doesn't look anything like Christmas over here right now.
I still can't believe all the Christmas decorations over here and the commercialism that has come along with the Holiday. I can understand the commercialism back home (I don't like it, but I understand it), but to have it over here in Bangkok is just ridiculous. I truly believe it has a lot to do with the fact that there are a large number of Westerners over here and most of them have a lot of money (or at least much more money than the average Thai).
Went on a trip to Laos with another teacher right before Christmas. It was a good trip. Laos is extremely cheap and I had a great time. I think we found a place to sleep for about $6 US per night and it wasn't that bad. Hot water, two beds and a fan. It wasn't the most elegant place, but it was all I needed. Came back and stopped at a city in Northern Thailand called Udon Thani. The interesting thing about that city is we were walking around trying to find some food and a political or royal caravan came through and the police shut down all the streets so this person could pass through. Everyone else on the sidewalk just stopped and observed the caravan.
I actually ran into one of these again later during the break after riding my bike around for the day. I didn't realize what was happening until a police officer started blowing his whistle at me and told me to get over. He wasn't really happy with me because I was still riding my bike and not standing on the sidewalk observing the caravan coming through. Honestly, I didn't even know anything was happening. Needless to say, the police officer was a little less hostile towards me when he got closer and saw I was a foreigner.
I haven't had any problem with the police here, but I've heard stories of them pulling people over for no reason, finding something wrong and then threatening to arrest the driver and take them into jail. All the police really want is a little bribe (200 Baht or so) and they move on there way. I can believe this too because I have seen the police lined up on the street and wave drivers over to inspect them for no reason. Its something different.
Aaron
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