Pesach in Bangkok

I just got in from my first Seder in Bangkok. If you look up Chabad on the Internet, you will see I had two choices. One a more traditional seder, I thought, around the corner from where I live, and two, a seder in the tourist area where all the Israeli backpackers go. I chose the former because it was around the corner and boy, was I surprised. It was not quite as traditional as I originally expected as the rabbi told jokes, gave a running commentary of the Pesach story and had people read. He seemed to know everyone. Joshua, I am surprised he did not remember me from the time we were in the synagogue.

When I walked into the hotel, it was, at first blush, exactly what I expected, with all of the 'alta kuckers 'sitting around in their wheel chairs and wigs. In fact, it could easily have been Baycrest. The rabbi came over and greeted everyone by name and he was so genuinely warm it was a pleasure. I think in all there was about 150 people and my table was probably a microcosim of who was there.

We had the obligatory Israeli family with the two wild kids climbing over each other for the food and matza. Two tourists ( Cohen) from the United States who just flew in this morning and had to tell us about all of the court cases he had won for the chabad over the past millennium. Beside me was a doctor of a pharmaceutical company who told me he achieved his legacy while he was still alive by creating a herbal remedy for hormonal imbalance that cured everything from cancer to wrinkles and the guy on my other side with the Thai girlfriend was an American businessman who retired in Bangkok and drives everywhere with his motorcycle and girlfriend in tow, I suppose.

When I asked the research doctor why he settled in Bangkok ,of all of the cities in the world he could have gone two, he told me that the city has such vibrancy he would never want to leave and fell in love with it from the first day he arrived fifteen years ago. When I explained this to Gerry or Daniel, they do not understand when all they see is the traffic, uneven pavements and smells. For whatever reason, I also feel the vibrancy in spite of my afternoon sojourn.

For some reason, the government of Canada wanted to see an official piece of paper from the government of Thailand saying how much money they took in taxes from me. Getting this piece of paper was almost impossible if not for a persistent Thai friend who ran from one office to the other getting the run around. Finally, we got the paper, in Thai, of course, and I am sure I will be fighting with the Revenue department for years over this. However, the Seder to-night and the experience this afternoon made me feel right at home!

I do want to go to a Seder tomorrow night in Hanoi, where I am heading, but the Internet is unclear where this will be. Let's see if I can find it with a little help from my Vietnamese friends.