Chiang Mai Loy Krathong 2014

For three days last week, Chiang Mai became the center of festivities for yet another Thai holiday, the famous Loy Krathong.  loi  means “to float”, while krathong has various meanings, one of which is “a basket to be floated on water in the Loi Krathong festival”. Several translations of krathong are found, such as “floating crown”, “floating boat”, “floating decoration”. The traditional krathong are made from a slice of the trunk of a banana tree or a spider lily plant. Banana stalk krathong are also biodegradable, but styrofoam krathongs are sometimes banned, as they pollute the rivers and may take years to decompose. A krathong is decorated with elaborately folded banana leaves, incense sticks, and a candle. A small coin is sometimes included as an offering to the river spirits.

Loi Krathong coincides with the Lanna (northern Thai) festival known as Yi Peng. Swarms of Lanna-style sky lanterns are launched into the air where they resemble large shoals of giant fluorescent jellyfish gracefully floating through the sky. The festival is meant as a time for tham bun to make merit.  The lanterns are made from a thin fabric, such as rice paper, stretched over a bamboo or wire frame, to which a candle or fuel cell is attached. When the fuel cell is lit, the resulting hot air is trapped inside the lantern and creates enough lift for the khom loi to float up into the sky.

Although, traditionally these two holidays supposedly occur on the night of the full moon, which was Thursday night this year, it is usually spread over three nights.  On Thursday evening, the peak of the celebrations, we were able to view the hundreds of lanterns filling the sky from the peace of our balcony!  Friday night, I headed out to the old city to brave the crowds and the festivities close up.

Not wanting to deal with my scooter, I hailed the first Songtaow (red truck taxi) that passed by. The truck was packed and the normal 20 baht fare had been jacked up to 50 baht for the holiday night. But still a pretty good deal for a couple of bucks!

As I walked around the city center outside of Thapae Gate, I was reminded of the crowds during the midwinter Flower Festival.  It was totally insane!  There was a parade each one of the three nights and this one was the largest. The floats struggled to make their way through the crowds as tourists literally stood in front of the moving vehicles to get that perfect shot! For those that visit the city during any of the major holidays and want to watch a parade, move away from the Thapae Gate area.  The further you are from this central area, the better view you will have!

Meanwhile, people were struggling to send their khom lois aloft in the stiff breeze and slight drizzle. Although I saw some get tangled in the many trees along the moat, most seemed to break free and head skyward, thanks to the wind. Bad luck would certainly befall those who ended up with a lantern crashing into the moat or hanging up in the branches! My question is where do these thousands of sky bound lanterns end up? What goes up must come down and there is a heck of a lot of stuff coming down somewhere!

Although it was fun to watch, a couple of hours of fighting my way through the mobs of tourists was enough! It was much more peaceful watching the sky lit up from the sanctity of our balcony.

Oh, and as far as the fireworks were concerned? After six years of 24-7 fireworks in China, we barely look up anymore when we hear them! In China, a half-hour spectacle was a daily event. And that was only because they were working on a skyscraper and they use fireworks to scare away the evil spirits.  Here, they seem to be in it for the noise only. The bigger the bang, the better! You are really lucky if any type of colorful display accompanies them! And it is usually a one-bang deal. BOOM and it’s over!