Chiang Mai Loy krathong grand parade royal float

Thailand 2010: Last day of Loi Krathong; Sunday Grand Parade (Day 4, Part 2)

Date:  22nd November 2010

Today began with a visit to Chiang Mai Zoo, to pay a visit to see the city’s most famous residents. After a brief rest, I stepped out again to witness what the final night of the Yi Peng Festival had in store.

Loi Krathong start participants gather
The parade was about to start
Loy Krathong ornate float
Ornately decorated floats!
Loy Krathong tourists light man
This guy was attracting attention today as well
Loi Krathong Grand Parade start
Fascinating art
Yi Peng sunday parade silver float
Man, the work done on some of these floats!
Loy Krathong grand parade silver float
“Don’t call me now, I’m in a different era! You’re ruining it!”
Loi Krathong grand parade Thais dressed
Thai ‘princess’ and ‘prince’

Loi krathong red tshirt group float

Chiang Mai red t-shirt group parade
Not sure who this red t-shirt ‘army’ were representing

Loy Krathong parade pickup truck floatsLoy Krathong grand parade elephant floatYi Peng grand parade pink elephant floatLoy Krathong pagoda grand parade Chiang MaiLoy Krathong Thai king floatLoy Krathong pretty Thai girl grand paradeElaborate float Yi Peng festivalGolden float Loy krathong grand paradeLoy Krathong start of grand paradeChiang Mai Loy Krathong performers lights

Lord Ganesha Thai women nails float Yi Peng
I wonder if Thais worship Lord Ganesha too

Beautiful float grand parade Loy Krathong

Chiang Mai Loy Krathong performers
Hundreds of locals participate in the Grand Parade

Yi Peng float parade girlChiang Mai Yi Peng parade participants

Chiang Mai US consulate family float Loi Krathong parade
The lady sitting on the car is the Consul General of the US Consulate of Chiang Mai, along with her family

Chiang Mai Yi Peng grand parade American

Loy Krathong grand parade Japan particpants
Up ahead, I saw many Thais cosplaying. Hmm, I wonder which contingent this is? 🙂
Chiang Mai Loy Krathong celebrations Japan group parade
Why no surprise there! 🙂
Loy Krathong grand parade Japan float
Japan’s float
Loy Krathong grand parade Japan cosplay Chiang Mai
Lots of tributes to anime and videogame characters

Loy Krathong grand parade Japan cosplay Thailand

Loy Krathong grand parade Japan cosplay Gundam Chiang Mai
Even dressing up as a Gundam robot!
Lavish float Yi Peng grand parade Chiang Mai
Absolutely beautiful work
Loi Krathong grand parade cavalade
The cavalcade made their may down Thapae Road
Loi Krathong parade coverage cameramen
Cameramen readied themselves

Loi Krathong grand parade traditional drumsChiang Mai Loi Krathong parade traditional drumChiang Mai Loy Krathong grand parade woman carnival

Chiang Mai Yi Peng parade cow puppet
Not sure if the creature was meant to be a cow or a goat
Chiang Mai Yi Peng parade animal buddhist monks elders
But it did stop occasionally to be ‘fed’ money

Chiang Mai Yi Peng parade Thapae road
Chiang Mai Loy Krathong parade Thai traditional drum

Thai character Chiang Mai Yi Peng parade
I don’t who this character/mascot was

Chiang Mai Yi Peng parade march Thai mascotChiang Mai Yi Peng parade Thapae road marchYi Peng grand parade women floatLoy Krathong grand parade beautiful Thai womenChiang Mai Yi Peng parade men back tattoo

Thai man back tattoo art Chiang Mai
Awesome tattoo art

Chiang Mai Yi Peng festival Thai men traditionalChiang Mai Loy Krathong Yi Peng festival grand paradePretty Thai model traditional jewelry Yi Peng paradeChiang Mai marching band Yi Peng paradeChiang Mai Yi Peng parade women bannerAfter following the parade from up front, I got distracted.

Yes, it was food… but…

Fried bugs sale Chiang Mai vendor
Fried insects for sale!
Chiang Mai fried insects vendor Thailand
Was tempted to be all adventurous…
Fried insects cricket bamboo worm silkworm Chiang Mai
…but I hate insects when alive, leave alone when they are fried dead

Fortunately there were more appetizing food on sale.

Meatball stick street vendor Chiang MaiFried rice noodles pad thai vendor Chiang Mai Thailand

Fried seafood street vendor Chiang Mai Thailand
All this stuff was cheap
Barbecue boiled meat balls Chiang Mai
My friend Loi’s survival food
Chiang Mai barbecued meat street vendor
Lots, and lots of meat!

Okay, enough food. Back to the parade.

Chiang Mai Thepbodint school marching band Loy Krathong paradeChiang Mai Loy Krathong grand parade light truckChiang Mai market overbridgePing river Chiang Mai overbridge lights

Chiang Mai street Loy Krathong Thais
This being the last day of the festival, everybody was out
Ping river Loi Krathong devotees
Locals thronged the banks of Ping river
Chiang Mai US consulate wall paintings
Walls of the Consulate General of the United States in Chiang Mai
Loy Krathong grand parade vip stand judging
The various floats pass by these stands where judges select the best in show
Ping river candle lit krathongs floating
Meanwhile on the river banks…

Thai local releasing Krathong in water Chiang MaiKrathongs in ping river Chiang MaiChiang Mai karthongs ping riverPing river krathongs Chiang Mai Yi Peng festivalPing river steps Loy Krathong Thai family

Chiang Mai Loy Krathong parade audience stand cameraman
The eager crowd await the parade’s arrival through the final stage
Chiang Mai Loy Krathong grand parade police cars
Leading the parade
Yi Peng festival VIP arriving Chiang Mai
Some formalities
Loy Krathong festival fireworks last day Chiang Mai
…and then fireworks!

Yi Peng festival fireworks last day Chiang MaiPing river Loy Krathong other sideChiang Mai ping river lit krathongsChiang Mai Yi Peng festival ping river krathongs

Chiang Mai krathongs ping river Thailand
River gods ‘flooded’ with krathongs

Loy Krathong ping river decorated bridgeLoy Krathong ping river bridge lights

US consulate family car float Yi Peng festival parade
The American Consul family still doing the rounds

Ping river street lights Chiang Mai Yi peng festivalYi Peng festival parade crowds Chiang MaiThais releasing paper lanterns Ping riverPing river Loy Krathong float

Dining ping river Chiang Mai Yee Peng festival
You also have fancier dining options by Ping river

Chiang Mai schoolgirls celebrating Loy KrathongPing river at night Chiang Mai firework

Loy Krathong ping river boat ride Chiang Mai
Dinner boat rides are also quite popular

Ping river bridge bulbs shooting firework

Loy Krathong grand parade march
The parade making their way towards the municipality building

Yi Peng festival Chiang Mai grand parade people

Banana stem used in krathongs
The banana trunk slices are what forms the base of the krathongs

Chiang Mai Yi Peng festival Chinese temple paradeWatching so many people release khomloys into the sky (and the fact this was the last day of the festival), I told myself I better release a paper lantern myself now. I still hadn’t done it yet! The past three days, I was busy clicking away and it made me feel like I was on assignment, on work (which in some ways, it is).

Chiang Mai lanterns Ping river Thailand
So I bought a krathong and a khom loy from nearby

Loi Krathong lanterns in sky Chiang MaiI asked a local if I could borrow a light and instead she kindly shows me how to light the khomloy. She even helped hold it with me as the lantern filled up with hot air.

Khomloy paper lantern Chiang Mai Yi Peng festival
And there mine goes!
Thai lady krathongs in ping river
I then released my krathong after making my wish(es). That’s the Thai lady who helped me.

Krathongs floating ping river closeupKrathongs in water ThailandPing river fountain firework Yi Peng festival

Loy Krathong festival khomloy night skyAs I walked back up to the main road, I kept telling myself with the disappointment of missing the events at Sansai that I had to come back again and do it right. More importantly, after the ‘assignment’ at Mae Jo, I will not spend all my time taking photos. Instead, I’m going to have fun releasing paper lanterns and playing with fireworks — and I won’t be alone 😉

I went back to the main road for a few more photos.

Traditional Thai couple Yi Peng festival paradeLoykrathong performers parade gongThai man Loy Krathong parade holding lampsLoy Krathong Grand parade Thai traditional palanquinAmazing float Loy Krathong grand parade Chiang MaiThai baby girl Chiang Mai watching parade

Thai transgender aids awareness Chiang Mai
Transgenders spreading the message of safe sex
Thai girls posing condom AIDS awareness Chiang Mai
Condom-man distributing free condoms… and posing for photos with girls
Young Thai girl glowing head band Chiang Mai
These kind of headbands are all the craze for young girls out here
Nawarat bridge crowds Yi Peng festival
Nawarat bridge was packed with people

Ping river at night Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai Thai king tribute gate
I headed back up Thapae road
Chiang Mai Loy krathong parade men
I pity the guys who had to carry the dancer in this heat for hours!

Chiang Mai Loi Krathong grand parade Thapae roadThai boys grand parade Chiang Mai Loi krathongThai girls traditional umbrella Yi Peng festival

Chiang Mai Loy krathong grand parade royal float
Really impressive, the work they put into these floats!

Chiang Mai grand parade silver elephant floatTraditional thai instruments Chiang Mai Loy KrathongChiang Mai Loi Krathong float Thapae roadTraditional Thai makeup Loy Krathong grand paradeChiang Mai Loy Krathong festival grand paradeChiang Mai Loi Krathong festival grand parade peopleChiang Mai Yi Peng festival traditional flags

Chiang Mai grand parade traditional palanquin
Don’t you know driving while talking on your mobile is wrong?
Chiang Mai Loy Krathong grand parade traditional palanquin broke
It broke! Poor girl must be so self-conscious now (even through it probably wasn’t due to her weight)

Thai Buddhist monk phone head wallThai Wat wall buddhist monk headsThai province girl grand parade Chiang MaiPretty Thai traditional girl grand parade Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai old Thai lady Loy Krathong grand parade
Hey, I couldn’t be biased
Thai king rama Chiang Mai Yi Peng grand parade
I’m really curious about the Indian connection in Thai history
Chiang Mai Loi Krathong grand parade elaborate float Thailand
These floats are all winners in my opinion
Chiang Mai grand parade Thai mythical animal puppet
This puppet was still doing the rounds
Cow puppet man drinking parade Chiang Mai
But even the men under the animal needed a break for water
Chiang Mai Thapae road Loy Krathong parade end
And that was the end of the parade…
Chiang Mai Thapae road junction street vendor
I walked back to Thapae gate to pick up some dinner
Chiang Mai fried rice shrimp cashews street food Thailand
Picked up some cashews, some fried rice and a shawarma
Leo beer can Chiang Mai Thailand
I even tried LEO beer for the first time. Essentially Singha’s offering to compete with Chang. My verdict? Chang is still better.

The fact that I had to split my last day in Chiang Mai into two posts is proof that this was a long day for me. I was quite tired, still feeling a bit feverish, but through it all — I was more than content with the photographs!

Tomorrow morning, I would head further up north to Chiang Rai and embark on the remainder of my journey across Thailand.

As a parting bonus, here’s a video of the some of the sights from today’s Grand Parade:


Next posts in this series:

Thailand 2010: Heading to Chiang Rai by bus, Wat Jedyod and Golden Clock Tower

Thailand 2010: Golden Triangle in Mae Sai; Chiang Rai’s White Temple (Wat Rong Khun)

Thailand 2010: Pattaya — Beach road, Viewpoint, Jomtien Beach, Walking Street

Thailand 2010: Back to Bangkok — Chinatown, Patpong, Platinum Mall and Chatuchak Market

Thailand 2010: Gurdwara Siri Guru Singh Sabha, Sampeng Market, JJ market (again)

Thailand 2010: Damnoen Saduak Floating Market tour, Cobra show… and leaving Bangkok

Previous posts in this series:

Thailand 2010: Chiang Mai Zoo (Day 4, Part 1)

Thailand 2010: Chiang Mai Loi Krathong celebrations; first Grand Parade

Thailand 2010: Chiang Mai cooking class; Loi Krathong celebrations in Mae Jo, Sansai

Thailand 2010: First day in Chiang Mai for Loi Krathong; driving up Doi Suthep

Thailand 2010: Arriving in Bangkok and preparing for Loi Krathong in Chiang Mai

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One Comments

  • James

    24/08/2011

    Lightman is my friend,nice guy who give doll and smile.

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