Loy Krathong, Chiang Mai style

There was a light drizzle when i left the Puripunn this morning “easy peasy” i said to myself. Just a scrunch of the old barnet every now and then and i am happy. Then i ended up torrential rain sloshing around in muddy puddles, apparently the sole foreigner still roaming the streets of Chiang Mai long after the others had retreated to the dry havens of bars and restaurants so see out the downpour in safety… It was at that point that i gave up and hailed the first tuk tuk i could get my hands on to get back to the sanctuary of the hotel.

I loved the apparent character of Chiang Mai at first, but after having a good nose

round the city over the past 2 days, looking round the multitude of temples and quaint little streets, apart from the Wat on every corner it seems overcrowded with staged experiences. Things like…

Tiger kingdom

Night safari

Elephant trekking. Even the governments elephant sanctuary seemed somewhat insincere. A ‘tourist information’ office  on every corner hoping to lure in naive backpackers.

Chiang Mai also seems to be full of people ‘finding themselves’ lost in what they call wanderlust. Using it as an excuse to behave badly. Showing little to no interest in the local traditions roaming the streets in elephant pants and a poncho whilst sipping from a giant Chiang beer is not it. I am yet to see a Thai person doing that. It’s scruffy, and more than a tad disrespectful. I cringe every time i see a tourist with a giant local beer in their hand strolling down the street. I’m hoping that locals don’t think of us all that way. I mustn’t look like a lost tourist as i was asked for directions this afternoon. I LOVE IT when that happens, it shows i must look like i know what i am doing.

The first parade of the festival was tonight, i went as far into town as possible with the tuk tuk and then hopped around puddles and people to get to a good vantage point to see all the action. There were 100s of people dressed up in traditional Thai dress, dancing and posing with the upmost of grace for the hordes of mostly tourists along the roadside. The outfits were so ornate and the girls did particularly well so carry themselves so beautifully on a night where the downpour didn’t cease once. Some of the poor guys were in loincloths only for the whole night!

There was dancing to the set music and routines, dancing around the tourists desperate to snap the perfect shot and then dancing to accommodate the locals who were adding votives and incense to the garlands and lanterns as the groups proceeded. There was even dancing and joyous celebrations at every traffic light and intersection when the larger floats had to be strategically lowered and then hoisted back up again to avoid snagging the vast reels of overheard power cables and causing the whole town to black out! It was quite spectacular to watch the art to that and even maintaining the power to it all. There was a constant hum of generators on the back of trucks escorting each float to keep them supplied with lighting and music.

I snapped away for a couple of hours soaking up the stories being acted out on the main stage and then found a peaceful pagoda for some supper to sit and watch the lanterns drifting

off into the sky. They looked very serene floating away into the darkness, lost myself watching them meander away wondering what people had wished for when they let them go. This was brought back to reality the next day when i heard that quite a lot of flights had been cancelled due to the release of these lanterns. ooooops! Probably better to stick to the floating votives as offerings next year.

I tried to head down to the main stage of the festival, but after another 3 hours of the rain my feet, legs, shorts everything were splashed in muddy water and i timed out. Time for a soak in that delightful tub of mine and a recharge ready for tomorrows adventure when the detox “fun” begins!

Ciao from a pensive cake lady, ready for some beachfront living but apprehensive about detoxing.

x x x x x x