CHINESE NEW YEAR IN THAILAND
B y C h i c c o L e u n g
O N E S T U D E N T ' S P E R S P E C T I V E O N T R A V E L L I N G O U T S I D E O F H O N G K O N G F O R T H E L U N A R N E W Y E A R
I certainly did not expect that an aesthetically bright, warm city like Bangkok would celebrate their own type of winter this Lunar New Year. This type of winter being the country ' s depressive mood after the tragic passing away of their beloved king. However, this grand city intertwined both mourning and joyful greetings for the New Year in an impressively natural way. Throughout this short New Year ' s journey, I have seen and begun to appreciate the way in which Bangkok has strived for a balance between portraying foreign cultures and its own. I will also add that this was my first out-of-China journey with family, and not to mention with, not one, but both of my over-80-year old grandmothers, whose common protests have always been " no long walks!”
The first images that came into our sight after landing were some black banners informing visitors about the passing of the king and his former life. We were almost beginning to wonder if mourning would be all that we see in the New Year. At this point, myself alongside both of my grannies had begun to raise
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