Or HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Today is the second new year for me here in Thailand (a third one in April, but that’s another story). A new experience for me was the almost non-celebration of Christmas which is way way different from back home in the Philippines. No exchanging of gifts for Christmas but the Happy New Year gifts I received from friends more than compensate for the lack of Christmas gifts. No Christmas parties either, but I’ve attended New Year parties. Today is the first day of the lunar year and it’s quite an occasion here in Phitsanulok where residents of Chinese descent started the firecrackers since yesterday morning. Yup, early morning! Yesterday, I walked around downtown, to have a Thai breakfast and get my roti fix. Most shops with owners of Chinese descent had these offerings of food and candles out front. I took a picture of the one in front of where I got my breakfast. On the table were incense sticks, chicken, duck, fruits, pork, and even beer!