curiosity regarding the king and his country. Then, after the custom checkpoint, a vast pool of black and red occupied the airport ' s entrances. All information was shown in Chinese, Thai, and English. Half of the billboards were about mourning, with the others saying " Happy New Near!" in red. The contrast was everywhere and anywhere one could possibly see:
Black-Red-Black-Red.
It was the first day of the Lunar New Year when we took a flight to Bangkok. There were so many first impressions in one night. For instance, one thing that particularly struck me was how there were Hongkongers in every corner of our hotel, and perhaps more generally speaking, there were foreigners from everywhere alongside the queue in Asok station. I found my eyes eagerly searching for a real Thai among all of the languages I heard and people that we saw; all I heard was Mandarin. And in all honesty, it was slightly disappointing, as I had to imagine the sound of Thai and urged the escape from my own country.
Yet, just when I began to believe that Thailand was occupied by all foreigners, some prayers were answered the next day! The receptions, chefs, and staff in and outside of the hotel were Thai, in addition, the young boys and girls playing lion dances in the streets were locals.
Those in the buses and lighting the red lanterns everywhere in the city were all locals! I was amazed. It was then that I realized that all of the commercial areas, like shopping malls, are what is foreign there, and everything that is local is what is on the streets and shops surrounding the pedestrians. From what I noticed, local culture is all about how the people complete everyday duties and interests.
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