After a most enjoyable, although sometimes hectic one month in Bangkok, we have now returned home where reality hit us with a vengeance.

The house was covered in more dust than I would have liked, domestic chores like paying bill, re-stocking the fridge/freezer and the larder, keeping routine doctor’s appointments etc. took a little while to deal with despite jet lag and a sore throat – but in the end we got slowly back to our usual routine and I was at last able to greet my “old friend” – my computer – and felt somewhat ready to enter the blogging world again with my first post of 2013.

But here now is my dilemma – I really do not know where to start, truly!

So much was happening whilst we were in Bangkok and in fact much had to be temporarily shelved for another time.

Because although Thailand is not a Christian country, as we all know, our seasonal celebrations like Christmas and New Year for instance are nevertheless being celebrated with great joy and vigor. It is also the time of year for weddings (and in some instances ‘the bigger – the better’).

In fact, the ‘City of Lights’, as Bangkok is known, has lived up to its reputation and presented itself once again in all its glory.

The colour scheme for Christmas 2012 was a splendid combination of (cold) silver and a (striking) warm blue. All the Malls, may they be huge, big or even small were covered in tens-of-thousands of little fairy lights. It also seemed like the Malls and the major hotels were having a sort of competition going on showing whose Christmas tree was bigger and better – a show clearly enjoyed by the many tourists who flew in from all over the world to celebrate Christmas and the New Year  in ‘the land of smiles’ – Thailand.

It was a sight to be seen and appealed to the child in me (which somehow always has refused to grow up completely) and I honestly admit to you here that I still go all gooy, ooooh and aaaah when I see anything connected with Christmas.

I stand in front of this really wonderful Crib inside the Assumption Cathedral and still look in wonder at the re-enactment of the birth of Baby Jesus.

I am the one who enjoys singing all the wonderful old and sometimes new Christmas Carols with the Choir and the congregation to my heart’s contend but who is totally incapable of singing “Silent Night…..” (which of course I love to sing in my native language – German) without starting to sob more or less silently, with small rivers of tears wetting my face. Embarrassing? You may say so– but I simply cannot help it. So I go on making a fool of myself every year in some Church somewhere around the world.  (Sigh!!!)

I am the one, who simply has to buy yet another additional item for our tree back home, despite the fact that I could open my own shop by now. But we have been doing this now for decades and obviously we are not going to stop this habit and yes, I actually can remember where each item came from. For example, look at this cute little golden Angel – this is our addition for 2012 and was bought at the ‘Jim Thompson Shop’ at Central World (and how I now wish I had bought two of them).

So, in order to now close this Christmas 2012 chapter in my Bangkok book I leave you finally with a short imaginary sleigh ride through the big hotels, the Malls and the streets of Bangkok to show you some of the trees and decorations which greeted us all over the city and who send some of their glittering sparkles on my behalf out to you as well to wherever you have been celebrating Christmas 2012.

So dear friends, do tell me if you care – what is your highly charged emotional moment where you cannot help making a “fool of yourself”? Carina.

(Photos: Manningtreearchive)