The traffic in the city began to get very heavy during the last two weeks og December. I guessed many people were trying to get all their gifts and wrapping for their offices’ parties and families’ gatherings. Some people had their Christmas lunches earlier to avoid crowds. I also had my festive lunch with old friends last week to avoid traffic jam. Most expats would have their holidays much earlier than their Thai colleagues as some had to fly home to be with their families.
This year Christmas decorations were quite colourful and lively in front of big hotels and banks. These extravagant decorations gave very uplifting vibes to passersby and made them very cheerful. Parents could take theur small kids to see these decorations as a weekend treat and they could have the opportunity to take happy family photos. Thai people really liked to take group photos on these festive occasions, especially at Christmas and New Year landmarks.
Because of the heavy traffic, I decided to take a bus to Central Shopping mall for a short errand. The bus driver was extraordinarily cool headed and kind. He stopped at all tgd zebra crossings. Tourists should never take zebra crossings for granted and think that all card would automatically stop at zebra crossings as soon as the drivers saw the pedestrians. If those cars were coming at high speed, the drivers would be reluctant to slam down the brakes. It was also quite risky that the car behind the first csr wouldn’t have the safe distance to brake and it would slam into the boot of the car in front of him. But things would slowly improved as there’s now speed limit in city center.
The decorations and lightings in front of the shopping mall were very nice and cheerful. The deep red colour seemed to be very uplifting and grounding at the same time. I noticed that there was a play area for kids with fake snow and a machine for making fake snow! A few kids seemed to be very excited by the fake snow. Their parents were so happy with this play area for children and took lots of selfies. This was the first time I saw a snow making machine, though the snow wasn’t cold and didn’t melt!
Then I was surprised by the sound of live music in front of the stairs. The mall’s management really tried to impress customers of the good tidings for this festive season. I hoped this would cheer up lots of people waiting for buses ten steps away. It’s rush hours in Bangkok so the crowds had a long wait for their buses. I was lucky to catch the bus going outbound so it wasn’t crowded at all.
The decorations at the mall did cheer me up tremendously. The live band also made me smile as these musicians would earn some extra money to give special treats to their families’ members. In some restaurants and resorts, live music was reduced to weekends in order to cut costs. I was on a specific errand so I couldn’t sit down to enjoy the music.
Inside the mall, Christmas decorations seemed to be recycled from those used a few years ago. But they still worked quite well and looked great. There’s a fast food and snacks stalls on the ground floor. I rarely bought any snacks from these stalls as they tended to sell in big packs with too much quantity. I couldn’t possibly finish si much snack in one day. In the past we could have sweets and snacks in smaller packages at lower prices. Having too much snacks and sweets in one day woukd just spoil the enjoyment from them.
After my errands at the banks, I had a brisk walk inside the mall. Then, I had a quick look at the Christmas decorations outside the mall and took some more photos. I felt so lucky to be able to live a relatively ‘free’ lifestyle though with economical constraints. Comparing with the situations of other people in some Middle Eastern countries, we stil could enjoy life, go shopping and walking around in safety. So, I was very grateful for what I was given (with divine interventions sometimes) and prayed for healing and compassion to envelop around the world.
Wishing you peace, good health and prosperity.
Stay strong and cheerful.
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