For a country that is 97% Buddhist and is fairly devout I was curious to see what kind of take there would be on the festive season,it being my first time here over this period. I freely admit to being something of a grinch,scrooge,bah humbug type when it comes to this time of year and am not missing the perennial route march around faceless shopping centres surrounded by loathsome characters who walk around as if in a trance.Yes,I am perfectly happy spending time in PP where the weather is fabulous at the moment and there is no pressure every time you turn on the TV,open a newspaper or switch on the radio.So you can imagine my shock when I was taken to a "Christmas Fair"at the posh Intercontinental Hotel last weekend.Although organised by ex-pats and featuring many of the things we associate with Christmas there was a definite Khmer take on proceedings e.g.Santa Claus in a cyclo,and local circus performers who displayed traditional Khmer moves.The whole occasion was all a bit overwhelming and the nearly 2 year old that I was with although enjoying himself,I think was overcome by sensory overload after a couple of hours.Maybe it was no wonder that we spent the whole afternoon collapsed in a local hostelry,tempted by the promise of golden syrup pudding(really!!) Indeed,I have been taken aback at the level of involvement in the Christmas ritual.At school the receptionists have spent the week turning the exterior of the building into a tinsel extravaganza,and plans for a Christmas party on the 20th are well under way.I walk into my local supermarket called Pencils to be confronted by cashiers wearing red Santa hats,the kind that are worn by fat football fans in the UK.There are fake trees everywhere and people are talking about it.Thought you could escape the celebration of a virgin birth.....not on your nelly in PP. However,the whole thing is not depressing me at all,and I actually find it quaint.After all at least the religious connotations never existed here in the first place so the whole period is seen as an excuse to binge in an honest way,and there is no hypocritical going to church once a year.I look forward to eating noodles on Christmas Day,although maybe I'll have a roast the following Sunday.I will miss my nieces and nephews but that's life I guess.They'll be spoilt rotten anyway in an orgy of over indulgence. Ho ho ho!