You can’t escape Christmas celebrations, particularly the gaudy decorations, even here in supposedly Buddhist Bangkok. Perhaps the worst aspect of the silly season is the assault of Christmas music being played in local malls, shops, and restaurants. At the nearby Emporium shopping center, you can’t even walk outside the building without being bombarded with Christmas songs. And of course, this being Thailand, the music is played at deafening levels. I tell you, one year I’m just going to snap and “go postal” when this Christmas nightmare overwhelms me.

Samak Sundaravej — the former Bangkok Governor, Thai Prime Minister, Cooking show host, and all-around creepy political character — passed away this week. Good riddance! As usual, his passing was “mourned” by the press and his fellow politicians. Samak was hailed as a “colorful” politician who didn’t mince words and stuck to his guns. Uh, such stances turned out to be particularly disturbing, as evidenced by Samak’s controversial role in the 1976 massacre of student protesters in Bangkok. He may have been colorful but he was also a nasty character who embodied the worst traits of Thai politics. I only wish he would take a few hundred other current politicians to the grave with him.

The customers who visit my bookshop come from a wide variety of countries. This week, a young woman from Cuba was in the shop and we had a delightful conversation. We reminisced about the joys of Cuban food, one of the few cuisines you can’t find in Bangkok. Just thinking about some of those delicious Cuban dishes makes me start to salivate. And I still think a Thai-Cuban fusion restaurant would be a hit.

Forget the laptop slugs, chain smokers, and hyperactive children; the annoying customer of the week award goes to the guy who parked his motorcycle in front of the store, right in front of our table of discount books, thereby making it nearly impossible for any customers to browse the selection. This dude may have been born to be wild, but he won’t win any points for considerate behavior.

Posted by dgilliland Bangkok