New Year's Eve

Help!!! My debit card has been hacked and money is being taken from my account! Completely shocked, I watch as messages about unauthorized transactions keep coming to my phone: 50€, 100€, 200€, 200€, 100€..., with about 10 seconds of pause between each. I still couldn't get in touch with the bank in Serbia, not to mention that their working hours hadn't even started yet (different time zone), and it's also december 31st...

And so I lost 1250€ on Facebook ads that I have absolutely nothing to do with! What an end to the year, right? Fortunately, with the help of a colleague from work, the bank permanently blocked my card and now I'm just waiting to see if it's possible to get the money back. Although I still have the card, now that it's blocked I have to rely only on cash, which I have enough of, but mostly in large denominations, so I'll have to break it down as best as I can.

Although it was December 31st, due to the situation with the card, I initially planned not to go anywhere, but after I received confirmation from the bank that they were doing everything in their power to help me, and most importantly that the card was blocked and there was no chance of being robbed again, I decided to celebrate New Year's Eve outside - as planned.

Let the Celebration Begin!

The organized New Year's Eve celebration was held at several locations in the city, but the most famous one was near Tha Phae Gate in the city center. I took a Grab ride around 9 PM to the night market (from the previous text) and most of the stalls were still open, but it was noticeable that the vendors were slowly packing up. I stopped somewhere there for dinner and tried a creamy sweet-spicy soup with beef and noodles - Khao Soi.

After that, I headed towards the gate, and from the market, the path to it leads through another long street, also crowded with vendors and various stalls with food and other goods. Here I bought my first pair of popular pants with an elephant pattern, the so-called elephant pants. This location was full of tourists, and the cafes on both sides of the street were packed. Along the way, on the dark night sky, reddish-orange dots of light could be seen floating - these were paper lanterns that people lit and released freely.

Near the main gate, there was an organized concert with Thai music and dance, and along the old city walls that surround the center, there is a canal with water and small bridges over it. On the bridges and along the canal banks, people were sitting, drinking, and waiting for midnight. There was no shortage of food and drinks, and the prices were affordable. I tried the famous pork sausage, with lots of spices and various herbs - Sai ua, as well as juice from longan whose fruit texture and shape resemble cooked cherries from compote, and the taste is like a very sweet honey pear.

The fireworks at midnight were not particularly interesting, but the lit lanterns were a real attraction! After the celebration, everyone slowly started to disperse, and I headed back to the apartment on foot - an additional 1.5 hours.