As we mentioned in out last post, our trip to Chiang Mai was planned in order to take in the festivals of Loi Krathong and Yee Peng. Because both festivals fell on the same weekend this year, the city was absolutely crazy. To intensify things, both festivals involve lighting things on fire and sending them down the river or into the air. Everywhere we looked there were fireworks, lanterns, and floating Krathongs begging us to Light Their Fires .
It’s hard not to be in party-town without getting caught up in the energy. We got excited and decided to check out as many events as possible. We saw a cool hot air balloon contest, and boat races on the local river, and even an extremely ornate Grand Procession parade filled with extravagant floats and costumes. The markets were also buzzing. Everywhere we looked there was shopping; especially cool was the sale of Krathong materials. The locals would buy a base made of wood, bread, or banana tree, and then attach flowers, ribbons, fireworks, and other assortments to make the beautiful floats for the river. We also took the time to get a small Krathong of our own and send it on its way.
It was during such venture that Andi had some firecrackers explode on her leg. Some drunk guy lit 50 fire crackers at the same time and was holding them in his hand. Then, he got scared and threw them all away, right onto Andi’s leg. She drew blood (see below), but she was strong and convinced Steve that a physical altercation wasn’t worth the trouble. That night (and every night during the festival) fireworks went on until around 4AM.
The festival in the city was a lot of fun, but the main attraction for us was the massive sky lantern release at the main Yee Peng ceremony. Imagine over a thousand lanterns being released into the sky simultaneously. We had a blast! Enjoy the pics below!
Steve and Andi (not so) Live from Bangkok 