"Parade" Day

Gung Hay Fat Choi: Happy Chinese New Year's!!!
Chris and I decided to go to Chinatown on Sunday to check out the New Year's celebrations. We had initially thought of going on Friday, but all the signs and information we saw seemed to indicate that Chinese New Year's was on Sunday, so we headed down on Sunday evening after a good dinner on Khao San Road.
We arrived to find crowds and crowds of people dressed in red. Wading through the human masses, we saw dragon lanterns and drums being sold, smelled delicious Chinese food and treats being cooked, and heard the excited hum of anticipation. The main street was barricaded to keep the herds off the road, though the traffic had not been stopped yet.

After a while, we got tired of being pushed around and settled on a spot where it was slightly less busy. Eventually, an important looking man told everyone to sit down and be quiet, it wouldn't be long now...which was a welcome thing, since we had been waiting, at that point, for about two hours.
The traffic ceased to flow and the surrounding people became restless. Soon a large number of cadets, soldiers and police officers came along the street and the masses quieted.
We waited...
A murmer of excitement...
A collective gasp of amazement stirred through the crowd...
And the Princess walked out of the restaurant directly to our left.
She, with a huge entourage, walked out to the street and past us. The Thais cheered and waved and were incredibly happy.
Then they all got up and left.
Chinese New Year's had apparently occurred already and the masses had gathered for this quick glimpse of royalty.
We laughed about it later, but I can't say that we were terribly thrilled to have parked on the pavement in polluted downtown Bangkok for three hours to not see the dragon dance, the lion dance, or any other Chinese New Year's celebrations.


Oh well, my concert dragon is coming along, and I think if I am a little more diligent about it, I can finish it tomorrow.


Until next time,
Heather