The Christmas season in Bangkok is always a little surreal. While the weather in late December is cooler, it is by no means cool. Plastic snowmen and sweaty Santas stand vigil next to Hindu and Buddhist shrines, while bright lights and loud music batter the senses into a state of holiday stupefaction.
In 2008 and 2009 we celebrated Christmas by hosting a big dinner at home for friends. In 2010 most of our friends weren't in Bangkok for Christmas, so we also decided to go somewhere for the holiday. We headed north to the Golden Triangle. This area used to be infamous for its poppy fields, which supplied opium and heroin to much of the world. While the Thai government has eliminated most of the poppy production here, the far north of Thailand remains a somewhat wilder place than most of the rest of the country.
We stayed at the Katiliya Resort, where we had managed to get a great deal on their "Honeymoon Package." (We were also celebrating our 7th wedding anniversary, after all!) We had a very cozy Christmas morning with presents from home.
We spent most of the weekend driving through the mountains, visiting villages along the way. One village, Mae Salong, is populated almost exclusively by Kuomintang families who fled to Thailand after the Communists took over China. Mae Salong is famous for its oolong tea. The road to Mae Salong was lined with some of the biggest poinsettia trees we have ever seen. (Unfortunately we didn't manage to get pictures of the really big ones!)
We also visited Sop Ruak, where Thailand, Burma and Laos meet at a single border. The "Golden Triangle" has become a big selling point here; you can take a boat to a casino in Laos and float near a massive resort built for the Burmese military -- but landing on Burmese soil is, of course, strictly forbidden.
We spent Christmas evening touring the small opium museum -- a Christmas Day activity for the whole family! -- and had dinner at the Anantara Resort in their Elephant Bar, decorated with trophies and paraphernalia from elephant polo.
On our last full day in the province, we drove to Tha Ton for a little outdoor adventure. We rented a two-person kayak and spent three hours paddling down the Kok River, which we seemed to have all to ourselves. Landing the kayak in the swift current was a little tricky, but we had a great time.
When we got home, we had one important duty to fulfill: making sure Sarawat got her visit from Santa. She was very excited to find a stocking under the tree with her name (well, initial) on it, and she loved what she found there. (Thank you, Santa's Little Helpers in Cary, NC!)
(Welcome to the Year of the Rabbit!)
We missed hosting a big dinner during the holiday season, so we decided to have a New Year's Eve dinner for those of our friends who chose not to go out on the town. We were surprised at how many people took us up on our invitation -- we had a full house! Sarawat, as always, was an excellent hostess.
After cocktails and appetizers, we enjoyed roast pork tenderloin, roast potatoes, Tuscan bread salad, and a green salad with almonds and tangerines. Two of Patrick's whiskey cakes came out for dessert -- one of them in the familiar shape of a four-legged friend. We watched fireworks on television and bid farewell to the last of our guests around 2:00am.
What a great way to start the New Year!
(Many party pictures courtesy of Svetlana -- Большое спасибо!)
1 comment:
What a wonderful way to celebrate the holidays! I especially love the shots of Surawat with her stocking. It doesn't get any cuter than that!
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