A Bangkok Christmas...

First thing's first, Happy Holidays from Thailand! I hope you all are having a wonderful holiday season.

Christmas is non-existent here...but then again, why would it in a predominantly Buddhist country? According to Wikipedia, Christianity makes up for less than 1% of the the population. Now, Wikipeee would usually be the last resource I turn to but in this situation, I trust it to be a fair gauge--it's hard to mess up on such a small number. It's weird knowing that it's December when it's 85 degrees with a cool breeze and no Christmas decor. One thing's for sure, the lack of Christmas-iness here made it a lot easier to be away from home. It didn't feel like Christmas, so I didn't have to think about it.

This year marked the first Christmas away from family. weiiiird. Nothing was happening in my town (not out of the ordinary) so I headed straight to Bangkok and Khao San Road, where Christmas is comodified for the sake of tourism.  It took me four hours to get into the city instead of the usual 2.5, you just never know with Bangkok traffic. I got to Khao San, checked in to Nap Park, and hung out and listened to live reggae at the Happy Bar while I waited to meet up with Marcial, Erica, Erin, Katrina, and Lizzie. Christmas Eve on Khao San Road drinking with good friends, listening to Thai reggae at Happy Bar then Thai covers at Shamrock, and playing pool proved to be a grand time.

Lak of Happy Bar

Quick story: I stumbled upon Happy Bar while roaming one of the small side streets/alley ways on Khao San the week prior. I was walking passed the bar when a some Thai dude with long, tangled, and nappy looking hair & Volcom shirt says in his accented-Thai-English, "Come have a drink." He was sitting next to another Thai dude, who is shirtless with dreads wrapped around the top of his head. In LA, I'd say that's shady. In Thailand, I said okay. I shrugged my shoulders and hung out with them for a couple of hours. They're nice guys and their bar gets super crowded with locals and foreigners as it gets later in the night. Happy Bar is Rasta influenced and makes for a great time to just chill out.

Christmas Day was awesome. Erin and I went to Dream World, the local amusement park right outside Bangkok. Like everything else Thai, it was interesting. Thai humor and entertainment is much different from anything American. We still had a great time...

Yup, I won...of course.

Who would have thought my first white Christmas would be in Thailand? Snow Town is one of the main attractions at Dream World. It was basically one giant freezer of man made snow. The highlight was sledding down the hill; we had permanent smiles plastered onto our faces for the rest of the day. It really felt like Christmas!

No matter how old I get, theme parks still wear me out (although, I'm sure motion sickness from riding The Viking did have something to do with it). And no matter hold I get, I will always love naps. I slept for about an hour and a half. Missing home didn't really hit me until we were sitting on the floor of our hostel eating Christmas cookies. Missing home really hit me when Erin and I had dinner.....at Subway. Nothing says Christmas like a 6 inch chicken breast sandwich, toasted with American cheese, the works minus jalapenos. It was just another day in Thailand. I miss home because I miss my family. But I don't want to go back just yet. I'm not ready. As much as I love my family, I love what I'm doing. Eating cookies on the floor of our hostel and having subway in lieu of Grandma's pancit or Ninang's Flan or Auntie Emily's salmon wasn't ideal, but it also wasn't terrible. Erin and I spent the rest of our night back on Khao San with both old and new buddies Zach, Nick, Andy, and Holly. Never a dull moment with those guys--more beer and more laughs.

Overall, Christmas was different, but good--great friends, great times.

Shout out to the fam: 

I think about you all often and I'm glad you're all doing well. Love and miss you!