A Different Kind of Christmas

Bangkok, Day 36

"It's Christmas Time" - and we start our morning with a special breakfast of Japanese bakery goodies. We have seen these flattened croissants in several places, and they often have different dipped toppings on them, but yesterday we picked up a chocolate one, along with some other bakery items from Yamazaki bakery in One Bangkok for our Christmas breakfast. Needless to say, all the items were very delicious!

We decided that we would return to One Bangkok for Christmas Day, and we had booked two tickets for the Gladiator II movie in the afternoon (yes, One Bangkok has a cinema also). We thought that this would be a good idea as it meant we would always have a memory and date stamp for where we were when we first saw this movie, and it was something different but yet kind of similar to our normal Christmas (as we would usually watch a movie on Christmas evening).

This time, on our way to One Bangkok, we used a shortcut route via the Lumpini MRT station to get to the place. The benefit of this is that it shades you from the heat and traffic, but the downside is that you initially struggle to work out where you are once you are in the complex and then how to get to where you want to go. In our case, we had a bit of difficulty trying to find our way to the direction of the food court, which is located near the cinema (5th floor of the Parade building).

Now Thailand is a predominantly Buddhist country, so they do not recognise Christmas Day as a holiday, but still, we were not exactly sure what to expect. For us back home, there is usually a bit of a shutdown on Christmas Day with the shops, and the streets are generally a lot quieter. That is most certainly not the case for Thailand. One Bangkok was absolutely heaving with people, and it was fine but also kinda weird for us, as again, this is not something we are used to for Christmas Day.

Anyway, by the time we found the food court, it was very busy. I went first to get my lunch (with my food card in hand), and little did I realise that although the queue to order was quiet, I was actually in line for my order to be cooked too, and there were several people ahead of me. I returned to R about 20 minutes later with my food (American Hong Kong style fried rice), before he could get the food card to go and get his lunch. I have to admit to being pretty disappointed with my lunch, especially as it took so long to get, but it was basically fried rice cooked in tomato ketchup with chopped hot dogs in it and served with a side dish of ketchup - way too sweet for my liking, but a lesson learned! R had some sort of pork and rice with vegetables dish, which I think he said was ok.

By the time we had finished lunch, we were getting close to the time for the movie, so we made our way to the cinema and probably because the cinema is still very new, it was again absolutely beautiful with a gorgeous entrance, beautiful plush seating area and very well organised by the staff. The range of items for purchase was limited to drinks and popcorn I think, so no sweets, hot dogs (not that I wanted one of those after my lunch!) etc.

Before heading out, we had the foresight to make sure we took our earplugs, as I don't know why the cinemas are always so, so loud. I mean, R and I are definitely getting a bit deaf in our old age, but for some reason, we cannot tolerate the cinema sound levels. So with our earphones and our soft drinks, we were all set for the film. The film itself was OK. I thought it was fine, but R complained that it was nowhere as good as the original (are they ever?). However, on the plus side, we pretty much had the whole cinema to ourselves as I think only one other couple was watching the film with us, which was oddly cool.

After the film, we headed back to the food court to grab something to eat, and thankfully, it was a lot quieter by now. We managed to nab a fab seat outside in the terrace area, and as it was early evening, it was not baking hot. My dinner choice this time was much better than the lunch - a garlic and bacon noodle dis,h and R had another pork dish.

After dinner, we had another walk around some of the complex but the number of people had increased significantly by this stage, so I'm not sure if people go tot he malls after work for their dinner and food, but it was busy and R and I don't like it when it gets to busy, so we decided it was time to head back to the apartment and Neko would also be waiting for us (and for his dinner).

As we made our way back to the apartment, it was probably later than we are usually out, and it was lovely to see all the lights on at various spots we pass by during the day.

All in all, it was a good alternative to our usual Christmas. Whilst we missed being with our lovely grown-up kids, we were delighted in the knowledge that they were being looked after by a lovely surrogate family (thank you L, P, A and family!) who ensured that they enjoyed a lovely meal on Christmas Day.

Bangkok, Thailand

25 December 2024