New Year's Eve

After the mangrove activities, we drove to Amphawa, a small nearby fishing village that comes alive on December 31.  Lots of Thais come here for the celebration and floating market.  We are just about the only farangs (white westerners) in town.  We checked into our hotel and had the evening to enjoy the Amphawa Floating Market before the midnight New Year's Eve countdown.  Unfortunately, because of the shrill, abrasive voices of the female singers, we couldn't stay with the crowd until midnight.

Dressed to kill, our group ventured out to the New Year's Eve activities in Amphawa.

Amphawa features a floating market where vendors are in boats as well as along the street sides.

The canal is lined with vendors.  They prepare food in the boats and pass the meals up to the boardwalk to customers.  There is a famous floating market closer to Bangkok, but it has gotten unbelievably touristy and is no longer even close to authentic.  The Amphawa floating market is the real deal.  We were just about the only farangs here... only the wonderfully friendly and welcoming Thai people otherwise.

This woman is selling massive shrimp and other seafood.

The street beyond the canal is lined with vendors selling all kinds of food, clothing, trinkets, and souvenirs.

The ajarns' favorite is phad Thai nachos.  Sooooooo good, and served on a banana leaf which is always a nice touch.  Crispy won-tons, with bean sprouts, crushed peanuts, egg, phad Thai sauce, and Thai chilis.  Wow!

All kinds of goodies in the market, including dead fish in baskets.

Cute coconut treats.

These were once alive, although I'm not sure what they were.

HUGE shrimp.

Longkongs and mangosteens.

BBQ squid and another dead fish.

They tell me this is the most popular singing group in Thailand, although we have difficulty believing it.  They travel all over the country but are from this area, so they perform here every New Years Eve.

Our students always get out on the dance floor, and true to annual tradition, they become near-instant celebrities.

Annie and Gabby in the foreground.  Katie, Max and Colin behind them.  Moose is in there too, but you can't see her (she's in the photo above).

Notice the newspaper photographer taking pictures of our group, while Max does the "worm."  I understand we were on the January 1 TV news and in the newspaper.

The terrible shrieking by the female singers reminded me of a cat whose tail was being stepped on, or maybe like Alvin and the Chipmunks on steroids.  Anyway, we couldn't take it any longer so we returned to our accommodations and welcomed in the new year on the patio over the Mae Klong River.  Here's Anna and Alex saying Suk sahn wahn pi mai!.