Christmas @ MBK Center, Bangkok

Christmas is pretty much a visual non-event in Bangkok apart from with the huge shopping malls that litter downtown, and these giants of the retail experience have really pushed the boat out. Locked in a perpetual fight for the attentions of shoppers, the cluster of malls this month are squaring off against each other with glittering displays of decorations, towering trees, and all the usual trappings of Christmas.

In the heart of the city Central World, Siam Paragon, Siam Center, Siam Discovery and MBK Center face off and do battle. Ive already mentioned the extravagant Christmas displays at the first two, this evening Im at the intersection of Rama I Road and Phraya Thai Road one of the busiest points in the city, where not only does the traffic pours through from four sides but the Skytrain route splits in two above the mass of traffic as the line curves sharply away from the final few yards that take this metro system into National Stadium station.

MBK claims it is the busiest mall in the city. Its a huge warren of shops. More downmarket than its nearby rivals, it has the obligatory department stores as well as a floor devoted to mobile phones, a beloved fashion accessory for city dwellers, as well as a floor handed over to food outlets. The mall opens out into a vast hallway in the centre, with escalators busy zig-zagging on all sides. Here hanging lights, trees and other snow-scene accoutrements abound, but it is outside, where hearts and minds (and wallets) are grabbed that most of the effort has been made.

From a distance the lights have been draped along the frontage create a long and glittering curtain-like effect while a message wishing passersby a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year flashes continually. A giant flickering shiny silver tree thrusts upwards from ground level and in the reflection created by the oval glass frontage to the mall, that houses its three-letter name in giant neon digits, it almost looks as if there are two trees on show.

At the base of the tree there are more Christmas trapping in the shape of a Santa Claus, snowmen, small trees, snowflakes, a traditional Lapland-style wooden house and other decorations, along with the four large digits that make up 2010. While Christmas is a non-starter in Bangkok, New Years Eve is a major event here, referred to as the Countdown, and it promises to bring tens of thousands onto the citys streets for the celebrations. And as with any display in Bangkok the decorations at MBK Center see a never-ending stream of people taking photos of each other in front of the scenes.

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