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Published: February 9th 2009
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Chinese New Year is a pretty big deal in Bangkok because there is a significant Thai Chinese population in the country. In fact, the vast majority of wealth in Thailand is controlled by the Chinese-Thai. As with most of Asia, the Chinese have their foothold here as well. The New Year celebration is the biggest holiday celebrated by the Chinese, and some say that it is the only day of the year that the Chinese-Thai don't work. Since we heard it was going to be a good party, we decided to head to the festivities on Monday night (Jan. 26), the “official” New Year celebration, ringing in the Year of the Ox. Heather donned her only reddish colored piece of clothing (a dark pink tank top) and we took the subway with our friend Miah to China Town.
The main street of China Town was packed shoulder to shoulder with people gathered around a large stage set up at the end of the street with tradional Chinese performances going on all night long. We followed the crowd to enter the main drag, and quickly became engulfed in a crushing sea of people trying to either watch the performances or
pass in or out of the main street. We hadn't been in a crowd like this since seeing Madonna at Coachella a few years ago! :-) At one point, we literally couldn't move and relented to the ebb and flow of the crowd, moving at turtle speed with bodies pressed all around us. After about 10 minutes of this, we finally and literally pushed our way through and into the main street, which was still crowded, but much easier to navigate and very festive. People everywhere in red shirts, tons of families, lots of vendors. People wear red on New Year because it is believed this color will scare away evil spirits and bad luck. A large and beautiful Chinese Dragon worked its way down the street and right past us. It happened so quickly we didn't have time to snap a photo, but it was very big and elaborate, with maybe 15 people needed to carry it.
We were actually expecting more of a “party” atmosphere like New Year celebrations in the States, but Chinese New Year is actually a much mellower atmosphere and more family oriented, more like the 4th of July perhaps. Additionally, seems that public
drunkenness is not favored upon so much in Asia. Honor, and what they call “saving face” is by far the most important social virtue to be upheld. We grabbed a table on the side of the road and ended up passing a couple hours there, people watching and drinking beer (like the good westerners we are). Our friend Dave who is a freelance photographer met up with us along with two other photographer buddies. They had been following the festivities all weekend and had been taking photos all day, hoping for that perfect shot that could then be sold or picked up by an agency. It was fun to watch all of the different types of people drift by, Chinese, Thai and foreigner alike. The street itself was also full of eye candy - bright neon signs, lanterns and bright sculptures. By the time we were finished, we had amassed a large collection of Heineken bottles which brought a chuckle from some passers-by. So much for “saving face”!
Watching the entertainment on the main stage proved to be a great photo opportunity. We experienced several different traditional dances and musical performances, all with elaborate costumes and an air about
them that reminded us just how ancient and refined this Chinese culture is and has been for thousands of years. Just as we decided that we'd had enough, around midnight, the traditional performances ended, and a hip hop group took the stage. We couldn't help but watch for a few more minutes. Honestly it was pretty cheesy, but the crowd seemed to love it, cheering and hollering at the teenage kids, which wasn't happening during the earlier “traditional” performances. On our way out of China Town, we stopped at a small temple that was situated on the street much like a retail store front. It was very busy with people making offerings and prayers for the New Year. The Buddha statue in this temple was of the “Happy Buddha” variety - with his fat belly and smiling happy eyes. People were lighting candles and incense, shaking the incense sticks loudly (to ward off evil spirits I think) and meditating on hopes and wishes for the coming year.
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Shilo Urban
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Hello!
Oh I want a balloon from that fantastic pile! And then the photo right next to it- shark fin soup. Wow. Travel exposes the very best and very worst of humanity. You guys keep blogging! We want to read all about your adventures! I am SOOOOOOO jealous! Have fun and by the way I would only recommend going to the ping pong show in Bangkok if you want Lionel Richie's "Hello" seared into your brain forever in a very, very disturbing way. Much love and sorry I missed your going-party )but I looked at all the pictures!) Shilo