After the unfortunate turn of events for me yesterday, I woke up today feeling a bit warmer inside. Not in a good way, more like having-a-body-temperature kind of way!
I woke up for a late breakfast, which I had at Rux Thai itself, and then went back to the room… to sulk. Hoping things would get better, health-wise and otherwise.
By the time I told myself there was no use sulking all day, I stepped out… at 6pm.
Lo Kroh looked desertedMany of the bars and restaurants were decorated in celebration of Yi Peng festival
I walked towards Thapae Gate to see if there was anything going on.
Didn’t seem like much
Guess that takes care of dinner for tonightCheap sushi
I walked a bit further, and things had started to ‘brighten’ up.
This wasn’t the only decoration Thapae gate got
Pretty
The one downside (sometimes) of carrying around a pro-looking camera is people assume you know how to take really good photographs and will do a better job than they can. I have often been asked to take photos of strangers using their point-and-shoot cameras and today was no exception.
After being asked by some Taiwanese woman to take a few photos of her, I asked her to return the favourThey had a stage set up for some functionI crossed the road and walked to the other side, hoping to explore morePlenty of stalls set up everywhereThis is Ratchadamnoen roadI entered this place out of curiosityOkay fine, it was the food!Hey, it’s Anthony Bourdain!?*You can never go hungry in ThailandUnless you are strictly vegetarianEven though this was a temple…… it essentially got turned into a ‘food court’
Once outside, I asked Tourist Police officer (an American woman) whether there was anything special planned for today. She told me yesterday was the big release of the lanterns in Mae Jo, today there wouldn’t be anything special and tomorrow would be the concluding Grand Parade.
She didn’t come of as confident and ‘in-the-know’. Something I was used to by now.
Still, I walked on
Steeped into another temple on Ratchadamnoen roadThough I forgot to note down the name of the templeMore stalls inside here as wellLots of eating here too
I was sooo tempted to bang it
I got back out to Ratchadamnoen roadThen I saw this…
… and it looked like a parade……which looked quite, grand
Here’s part one of the videos I took of the parade:
I take it the floats were showcasing Thailand’s culture from across all provincesAnd I also take it these participating groups were colleges, schools, and other establishments
This guy wasn’t part of the parade… but was getting a lot of attention anyway
Here’s part two video of the parade:
Walked this alley out of curiosity
More celebrations awaited me inside.
Lanterns from below joining the fireworks in the skyNow it were the monks who wanted to light a big oneA really big oneYou obviously cannot use matchsticks to light a lantern this bigWait for it to heat up insideWait for it…Okay, everybody’s waiting… just let go of it already!And it’s upI leftNear Rux Thai, this was the sightWalked back to Thapae Gate
There was a beauty contest going onPacked audience tooSwitched to the 70-200mm lens for a closer lookI wasn’t the only oneA rather ‘traditional’ looking beauty contest
The judges-slash-sponsorsJust before the winner is announced, the women get the ‘God-I-hope-that-b***h-doesn’t-win!’-lookThe winnerShe gets a placard……which says something in ThaiThe runner-ups get a month’s supply of instant noodles*
Lanterns were still floating up
The stage cleared. I didn’t wait to see what was next.I walked on down to Thapae Road next
As I walked along, I saw a large crowd gather around someone.
Everybody was watching this guyHe was mighty impressive
So I decided to take a video:
I tipped him 10 baht and continued down the road.
There were a few other street performers as wellLots of fireworks today… which is always niceHey, those lion statues resemble the official emblem of India!
Curious as to what the possible ‘Indian connection’ could be, I went inside Wat Buppharam.
Looked like just another Buddhist temple to me
I got back out to Thapae Road and made my way towards Nawarat bridge.
Lots of media
The parade was still on
It was crowded!They had a stage set up… sadly for the band, very few were watchingVolunteers in condom costumes distributed free condoms and promoted AIDS awarenessThe people on Nawarat bridgeMany devotees releasing krathongs into Ping riverAnd if you’re wondering what those people in the waters are doing, they’re ‘stealing’
Stealing what? Money. When the locals pray and release the krathongs, they often place some money as an offering to the river goddess. These shameless people then wait for the krathongs to float their way and then take the money. CNNGo has a good article on these ‘river bandits’.
It’s hard to capture what I saw with my eyes no matter how much I tried
It’s not just the hundreds of paper lanterns in the sky in front of me. There were hundreds more to my left, right, behind me… everywhere! I kept wondering “How does one truly capture the experience in one frame!”
I moved to another bridge
The parade was at the end of its runKrathongs and khomloys (paper lanterns) for saleI walked down these stepsPlenty of fireworks soon went off near Rim Ping Hotel
Kinda looks like the Death Star doesn’t it?
Ping river was packed with devoteesAnd a few big floats
I walked towards the Chiang Mai Municipality buildingCultural shows were going onOne of the performers; dressed very geisha-likeThese paintings were on the walls of the US ConsulateI was starting to get hungry at this pointLots of flowers today as wellNot sure if these were rosesSome temple near the marketIt was nearing midnight, time to head back to the roomCelebrations on Loy Kroh road were timid at bestAs seen at a small Indian eatery near Rux Thai
As I sat on my bed before going to sleep, I reviewed the snaps I had taken today. After yesterday’s disappointment, and how I felt when I woke up today, my mood was definitely more upbeat after I saw my photos.
I walked a bit further, and things had started to ‘brighten’ up.
The one downside (sometimes) of carrying around a pro-looking camera is people assume you know how to take really good photographs and will do a better job than they can. I have often been asked to take photos of strangers using their point-and-shoot cameras and today was no exception.
Here’s part one of the videos I took of the parade:
As I walked along, I saw a large crowd gather around someone.
I got back out to Thapae Road and made my way towards Nawarat bridge.
