The morning after, Loi Krathong style!Although heat (35 and humid!) and crowds are usually not our thing, we really enjoyed the entire festival experience. There was just an energy all around that you couldn’t help but be swept up in! And it wasn’t just the tourists. Everyone was involved. It felt like all of Chiang Mai was out on the streets, having a good time.
A very happy outcome when you consider that just the day before, it felt like our entire visit would be a bust!
Every year, there are two mass lantern release ceremonies in the city, both from the grounds of the University, Mae Jo. One paid, geared towards tourists, and one free, for everyone else. Even if we had wanted to dish out money for the paid event, they were sold out long before we had even decided to make this trip. So Nick and I planned to go to the free event with the locals and the backpacker crowd.
So I was seriously devastated when, the day before the festival, we learned that the free event was not happening this year, and that tickets for the paid event were impossible to get. The kind Swiss man who ran our guesthouse recommended that we get ourselves to the Narwat Bridge and that we’d still see plenty of lanterns, but that did little to assuage me. I was really bummed that I wouldn't get my Instagram-worthy moment (you know, ignoring the fact that I’m not even on Instagram).
Much like Mera Peak, this is something that I had been dreaming of experiencing for a long time, and it was really hard to accept that it just wasn’t going to happen and there was nothing I could do about it. First world problems, eh?
It took some mental readjustment; I had to give myself a stern talking to, but I slowly got myself into the right frame of mind to just experience the festival as it comes. It’s hard to let go of expectations, especially long-held ones. But it would be even harder to remain grumpy and dejected in the face of a city as wired and alive as Chiang Mai was for those three days.
 Looking down at Nick from my lamp post |
 View of the parade from my lamp post |
The streets were just flooded with people and vendors. There were colourful and elaborate krathongs (the floating lanterns) being sold and launched all along the river. And oh the street food! We ate some really amazing things: deep fried sweet potato balls, pad thai, mini belgian waffles, samosas, unidentified meat on a stick (Nick, of course) and different types of milk tea (with jelly!). The variety was amazing. We tried to find some of the same things a week later and came up empty handed! So I guess vendors traveled in from all over the city to sell their wares.
Releasing our lanternWe got to the parade route early to lay claim to a well placed lamp post, so when things finally got going, I had a great view of the musicians, floats and and the kids in their beautiful, traditional clothes. There was a super catchy Loi Krathong song playing everywhere. The mood was definitely infectious.
Although we did not get to see thousands of lanterns being released at the same time, we still experienced the magic of seeing many lanterns gently swaying in the breeze and rising in the air. The night sky was just dotted with the lights. It was truly beautiful.
I have never been to India during Deepavali (also known as Diwali), but I imagine this is what it's like. I'm not sure that I'll ever go out of my way to attend another festival. Once was enough! But if we happen to be in the area at the right time, I've learned that it can be a total blast!
Lanterns light the grounds of a temple
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