Most of us have watched Dick Clark welcome in the New Year in New York’s Time Square. I have often watched the celebration wondering what it would be like to be among the hordes of people braving the cold to watch the ball drop, signaling the beginning of a brand new year. Our experience this year in Bangkok was likely the closest we’ll have to welcoming in the New Year in a similar, yet very different, way.
The similarity between Bangkok and New York were the hordes of people, all moving to try and get somewhere, closer to something I think, but their destination mostly remained a mystery. I have never been in a crowd so big before, a crowd where if you didn’t hang on tightly to your group by forming a human chain, you would quickly be separated. A crowd that moved slowly along, and you just had to move along with it; there was little choice to do anything different. A crowd that was calm and polite, smiling and I’m sure saying “sorry” in their own language, as we inadvertently jostled each other.
There was entertainment on the big screen – a group of young Thai musicians performing somewhere amongst the very large crowd. And there was speaking in Thai – we weren’t sure what was being said but the speaker was met with lots of cheers. And then the countdown began – the large crowd counting down from thirty in Thai, their voices getting louder as the numbers got smaller. And then the New Year was welcomed in – Sawatdee Pii Mai (HelloYear New). There was lots of cheering but no kissing; public displays of affection are taboo in the Thailand culture. And there were fireworks and “oohs” and “aahs” sound the same in any language.
I’m not sure what is easier to bear – the freezing cold of New York’s Time Square or the humid heat of Central Bangkok. And while we missed hearing Auld Lang Singe, this was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience that we were glad we had.
We had New Year’s dinner at Ge Passo – an Italian restaurant in Ryan and Meagen’s neighborhood.
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