New Year Part 2

"Forget it Jake. It's Chinatown."

- Joe Mantell, "Chinatown"

Last weekend was Chinese New Year. I just got the word that my oldest homeboy Jon Moberly will be visiting in April, just around the time for Songkran (Thai New Year). I was planning on travelling for the weekend but decided it against it to save up some money to for this extended trip. The Rolling Stones always said that you can't always get what you want. But of course, fun can be found anywhere.

Thailand has a decent Chinese population (14%). With a sizable amount of people who want to celebrate a party and a culture that loves any excuse for a celebration, having a banging Chinese New Year is a no-brainer.

The festivities began on Wednesday. Many teachers and students headed to the temples to pay homage. Families went out and bought chickens. I’m gathered that the chicken to Chinese New Year is the same as the turkey to Thanksgiving. The streets around my school were filled with chickens hanging from poles. On Thursday, the nearly the entire school had gone to the temple. Friday was off, so I hopped on the train to Chinatown.

Chinatown is a huge maze. It’s essentially one very large street (Yaowarat Road) that has a bunch of small streets and alleys that shoot off from it. There was a band playing at the beginning of the road and decorations sprinkled throughout. I spent a few hours wandering these roads and it was a blast. These small alleys were filled with little shops, stands, and vendors that had come for the new year. Sometimes there was even a shrine hidden within them. The pictures can fill in these wanderings better than I can.

Making noodles - like a boss.

This guy looked exactly like Avicii.

I was slightly disappointed at the end of the night. I figured there would be some sort of parade or fireworks display. Instead, more stalls opened up in the middle of the road and it turned into more of a night market. I figured a New Year celebration would have a bit more pizzazz. Regardless, it was definitely worth going.

Balls of Fury

I had a great discovery last week. Hidden behind the cafeteria are 10 ping pong tables, constantly filled with students. I decided to roll up my sleeves and show these kids how America plays ping pong.

They smoked me. Even the 7^th graders had me lunging across the table. Granted I hadn’t played in months but these kids beat me handily. But I’m pumped to get back to my peak form of spring ’09 when I dominated the tables in the Lenz, Klamm, and sometimes Harris households.

I recently made plans to go up to Chiang Rai two weekends from now. Got another 12 hour ride ahead of me to get there-but hey, I'm always game for Fast and the Furious marathon on a bus.

Mark