1.
Temple scenes
5 ft

2.
Street scenes in Bangkok (2 shots)
20 ft

3.
Christmas shopping (7 shots)
20 ft

4.
Church scenes (2 shots)
24 ft

5.
Santa presenting gifts to children (5 shots)
35 ft

6.
Snowman
40 ft



Initials



Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved

Background: Thailand - predominately a buddhist nation - celebrated Christmas primarily for tourists.

There is little noticeable increase in the shopping crowds. Most of the department stores, particularly those catering for tourists, chose the Christian festive season for sales. a wide variety of goods, headed by new displays of jewellery an toys, have been displayed in some of Bangkok's better-known stores and sales have been good.

Out of the local population, only a few observe the Christian celebration season. The city's churches celebrate midnight services on Christmas Eve but for most of Bangkok's inhabitants, Christmas is a time only for Europeans.

For resident westerners, traditional trimmings are not forgotten. Even Santa manages to make compulsory stopovers for the Children. He distributes presents and festive greetings before moving on the his next unknown stop.

Snowmen can also be found in Bangkok. ???for Thai children, they represent something they have never seen. But even when constructed in cotton wool, they hold the fascination of Christmas.