“The whole difference is (visible) on the face of a drunken Russian and a peppy Thai,” – such a statement about the difference in the celebration of the New Year was dumbfounded by a Russian traveler who met 2023 on a Thai train.
In her blog on Yandex.Zen, the author said that on the night of December 31 to January 1, she was on a train from Bangkok to the city of Trang, and therefore had to meet the New Year on the way. At the same time, she stressed that she does not regret it. She drew attention to the fact that a week before December 31, popular Thai supermarkets survived the invasion of Russians, who bought up all the products characteristic of Russia for them in order to reproduce the traditional Russian menu in Asian resorts – “this is where there is a lot of mayonnaise, cold cuts, cheeses, salads, Oh, and alcohol.”
According to a compatriot, in Thailand, during the celebration of the New Year, Russians are often found who have previously “refueled” with these same mayonnaise salads and alcohol and are screaming at the grandiose fireworks.
“Russians, even in the tropics, celebrate the New Year according to the old canons. All our friends prepared the same dishes for the holiday, despite the price tag for European products. With a salad and a drink in the new year 2023, nothing changes. They are not even embarrassed that alcohol in Thailand is very expensive. We would like to join someone, but this banal fun just scared us away. As a result, friends just got drunk and now none of them remember how they fell asleep, ”the girl was indignant.
For comparison, the traveler spoke about the way Thais celebrate the international New Year and their own Songkran. If Russians greet the first days of 2023 in an Asian country with noisy festivities, then Thais use them as an opportunity to travel within the country and abroad. And the traditional Thai, Buddhist and most important holiday in the Kingdom, also known as the Water Splash Festival, is considered a family event and is officially celebrated by residents from April 13 to April 15 of each year – this is the Thai New Year. On the first day, water “fights” are held using water guns, buckets and a hose to wet everyone in sight. It is held without alcohol and an abundance of food.
Thais have a different New Year's atmosphere. “All cities are decorated with a Christmas theme. We passed such small villages that they are not even marked on the map. And they were symbolically decorated with lights and artificial Christmas trees. Against the backdrop of palm trees, it looks very nice … “It is not customary to drink alcohol between Thais on this day. And they do not prepare salads, even on their New Year's Eve. Skewers with meat, sausages, quail eggs and rice are the only food they are ready to eat all year round, even on holidays,” the blogger specified.
For those who value a healthy lifestyle, we recommend reading: “Doctors have reported combining alcohol with various medications during the New Year holidays.”