One of the reasons why we wanted to see Chiangmai in the first place was Loi Krathong, the big Buddhist festival held annually in November at full moon. In Chiang Mai, the major festivities take place at a bit more chaotic side of the Ping river, where krathongs (boats made of banana leafs or bread and decorated with flowers and candles) are sent off floating to a river to take wishes to the gods.
"Yi Peng" is another festivity held together with Loi Krathong, where instead of krathongs, people send lanterns made out of rice paper (Khom Loi) up in the air. Loi Krathong was mainly celebrated in Chiang Mai, and to experience Yi Peng we had to take one crazy scooter trip up North.
We drove there with a mixed lot of Brits and Europeans from the guesthouse - locals and the more Thailand-seasoned Brits drove so fast that we and couple of other Europeans were left far behind. But all well - we made it anyway. There were so many lanterns already in the air that we couldn't have missed the place:
Loud and crowded scene filled with chatter and fireworks opened on the fields. After buying our own lanterns to join the fun, we headed straight away to a bit more open spot on the festival grounds.
Luckily, just a couple of trees got kissed by lantern fire..
When the right time to send lanterns off came there were quite a hassle, but one of the dudes snapped a few pics of us.
I guess crowded festivals have their downsides as well. Thousands and thousands of lanterns in the night sky and karthongs in the river may be a sight that takes your breath away, but the amount of junk produced in a weekend definitely does too.
But all in all - scootering with a crowd is quite a bit of fun
And Lanna festival grub is tasty - sparrow eggs with soy sauce.
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