Day 7: "It's Merry Christmas"

The evenings of December 23rd and Christmas Eve found the hotel and the surrounding streets overwhelmed with local Chinese. A festival feeling was in the air, complete with street vendors selling glow-sticks and other junk. The first night was daunting, and the 24th was double the people. I figured the White Swan must be having some sort of Christmas banquet or something. In fact, I had seen a sign announcing "Christmas Fair" earlier in the day. It was nuts.

On Christmas Eve we had gone to Lucy's for dinner, but they were not serving the regular menu mix of stir-fry, French fries, hamburgers, burritos and wonton soup. Instead, it was only a special Christmas turkey menu. Not believing that we couldn't get Chinese food in China we left and returned to the "Chinese" restaurant in the hotel. (Several of the Americans here refer to this restaurant as "the Chinese food restaurant." I explain to them that here it's just called "food." Most don't get my point. Crazy Americans.)

We did get great Kung Pao chicken and beef with mushrooms. The table was all decorated for Christmas with a red candle, ribbon criss-crossing the table and a blinking Santa lapel pin on our napkins. We also noticed the crowds beginning to swell. It took a little longer to get the elevator back to our room, but not too challenging yet. It was still only 5:30 p.m.

About two hours later Robin came over to our room and asked, "Have you been down stairs? It's insane!" She asked if I would go down and take some video with her camera. "Absolutely."

When the doors to the elevator opened on the first floor all I saw was a rush of people flowing past the elevators into the hotel. The only option was to join the flow and head the same direction. White man with a camera going against the flow didn't seem a good idea. Anyway, my goal was to see what was all the fuss.

Soon I was part of the human deluge all heading toward some inevitable destination. As we wound past the main public areas of the hotel, revelers would peel off to take pictures with the decorated Christmas trees and other decorations throughout. On the way toward the back lawn there was a Christmas buffet selling French fries and hotdogs...a "yule dog," if you will. I stuck with the crowd and soon discovered purpose to which the masses were committed. Out on the lawn, by the swimming pool was set up a small Santa's Village. And who do you supposed was the main attraction, but old Saint Nick himself. He looked a little under weight by my estimations and decidedly more Asian then I'm used to seeing. But, I've always know that Father Christmas appears local in every boy and girls home. The line for a visit and a picture with Santa was longer and thicker than any I've ever seen at any American mall.

Having gotten my fill of the craziness and enough video footage I headed back upstairs. Upon showing my room keycard, I was allowed to return via the service corridor rather than follow the one-way flow of people the long way around to the front of the hotel. On the way I asked one of the young hotel attendants, "What's going on? What is all this about?" He explained it all to me. "It's Merry Christmas."