As the chaos continues in Bangkok, life in Chiangmai carries on, oblivious to all outside activities!  Nights are getting cooler but still in the high 20s during the day. There’s always stuff happening here and this past weekend was no exception. Yesterday, we hopped on the scooter and headed over to the Gymkhana Golf Course, where the International Balloon Festival was taking part. It was a two day event, all day Saturday and Sunday, with basically the same events happening each day. The festival has been held annually since 2007 and always draws a large crowd.

The balloons are launched at sunrise on Saturday and Sunday morning. Most of the activities take part later in the day. Several of the larger hotels and resorts have great food booths on the grounds and there was a large beer garden where you could indulge as you watched the festivities! It was really interesting just walking around and watching the huge balloons being set up for the display and show that took part in the evening. Read More

Thais may disagree on the political front these days but one thing they all have in common is their overwhelming respect for the King.  The country came together this week for a few days of celebrating this event. Although the actual birthday was not until December 5, the festivities started the day before.  In Bangkok, a truce was called for a couple days to celebrate this special event. The demonstrations were predicted to begin again today (Friday).

One thing you never do in this country is show any disrespect for the monarchy. People will spontaneously bring up members of the royal family in conversation and their faces light up when they do so. In every theatre in the country, before every movie begins, the audience stands as the royal anthem is played and a short video about the King is shown.  And so this week we headed to the central area of the city to take part in the celebrations. Read More