It's been weird, being away from home, the cold, and the snow for the Christmas season. There are some things I haven't missed, like the crowds that seem to appear out of nowhere after the Thanksgiving turkey has been cut up and put in the freezer. And then those holiday soundtracks that rarely differ from store to store.
But being in a tank top and light shawl on Christmas Eve? That is weird.
But Chiang Mai has welcomed me (and all of the rest of us Christian-inspired tourists) in with it's holiday charm. Plastic trees were taken out of the storage rooms of guesthouses about a week ago, and the holiday jingles started echoing from a small, but noticeable number of shops and restaurants around the same time. Completely manageable. Not too much; not too soon. Just enough to get you excited just in time for the real deal. It's odd, that a country that doesn't even celebrate a holiday can make me feel better about holidays than my own country ever did.
No station playing "A Christmas Story" all day, but luckily I snagged it from a friend before he departed for Bangkok.
The best Christmas gifts I could ask for will arrive in CHX in less than 24 hours. And will probably be fast asleep, recovering from their travels, this time tomorrow.
Happy holiday wishes to everyone!
B(ee)
24 December 2009
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Jet lagged so no idea of the time
ReplyDeleteyou were our Christmas present 21years ago