Saturday, December 25, 2010

The Christmas Spirit

For a overwhelmingly Buddhist country Thailand still has the Christmas spirit. I just went for a walk up to the shops from where I am staying in Bangkok to buy some after Christmas lunch snacks from the 7-11. Instead of getting as far a the 7-11 I ended up at a mobile street stall vendor selling banana roti. The vendor was Muslim judging by his dress (white long shirt over batik skirt) and cap although somewhat surprisingly I could see a "I love America" T shirt, complete with the stars and stripes showing through under his shirt.

I bought 5 of the dishes above, the vendor charged me for 4 and gave me the 5th free - at which time we shook hands and wished each other a Merry Christmas. If me as a Buddhist and a Muslim street vendor can wish each other a Merry Christmas there is hope for the world yet, pity other areas of the world and religions are not as tolerant of each other.

No comments:

Post a Comment