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 chose Thai Farm Cooking Class as supposed to the few that were in walking distance from Rux Thai because after viewing their website, it was the setting that convinced me to go far just to learn how to cook Thai curry.
My group consisted of a British couple, an American woman, a bunch of French women, a young German girl and one Indian guy (guess who)
The farm was out of Chiang Mai city but after picking up all the guests, our first stop was at a market.
Nattaya, our cooking instructor and guide around the market
The market stop was to familiarize us with ingredients commonly used in Thai cooking — which to a South Indian wasn’t unheard of.
Nattaya explaining us the varieties of riceReady-made green and red paste, used in the curries
After Nattaya ran us through the basics, she gave us around 10 minutes to look around the market.
Sweet dumplingsHow they are madeI was amused by the fans they used — plastic bags with meat & bones in them as the fan bladesDespite being in land-locked North Thailand, you still get good seafood in Chiang MaiUpon web research, these pink eggs are preserved eggs apparently
We re-grouped and left for the cooling class farm.
The journey takes around 45 minutes from Chiang Mai city
Once at the farm, we were given a brief tour of the surroundings.
Two group classes are taken every day (while the cat, just sleeps)Nattaya setting up our ‘kitchen’Nattaya first explained to us how to wash riceShe was washing the rice in the steam basket itself
Steam cooking the rice
While the sticky rice cooked, Nattaya guided us out to the farm they have in the compound, in which they grow a lot of the ingredients we use in the cooking classes.
Sorry, don’t remember what this plant was but all I remember is that it’s an important ingredient in Thai cookingWe all get individual tables of course…and aprons (Photo taken by the German girl next to me)
Prior to even arriving at the farm, you are given a checklist of 5 dishes you want to learn how to cook. For eg; you have the option to choose to make either Thai green curry or red curry or yellow curry. Similar options for a soup, side dish, spring rolls and dessert. The choices include vegetarian and non-vegetarian (usually chicken or shrimp).
All ready to chop up and mashThe old Thai lady wasn’t too impressed by the old French lady’s mashing skills, so she showed her how to pound a grinding stone the right way!First up for me, Thai green curry (chicken)
I followed Nattaya’s instructions and 25 minutes later…
It wasn’t bad I say 😉Next, Tom Yam soup (I chose to use tofu)
After that, I made stir-fried chicken with cashew nuts (Gai Phad Met Mamuang Him Mapaan). And once that was done, it was lunch time!
Yeah, we had to eat all that we cooked
But as we all gathered around our table, we passed around each of our dishes, so everybody could try out the different dishes one learned to make at Thai Farm Cooking Class. After lunch, we chatted about our respective travels within Thailand and elsewhere. I asked some of them if they had plans to see the mass-release of the khom loys or paper lanterns at Mae Jo. Most of them didn’t know what I was talking about, which was surprising, as I assumed the event was a major draw in Chiang Mai, and everyone knew about it.
I wanted further information about the event and specifically, when exactly it was. And since finding English-speaking Thais is a bit of rarity, I approached Nattaya and asked her if she knew about the events at Mae Jo. She told me she wasn’t sure about when it was but did let me know that she would ask our driver, as he’s better informed about these things.
We still had two more dishes to cook up but Nattaya told us we could take a nap or walk around the property if wanted to. I chose to walk.
Panorama comprised of 10 shots
As if they weren’t lazy enough… a cat in a cooking class!
After a half-an-hour long break, Nattaya called us back in.
We cooked dessert. I made Kluai Bod Chii (Banana in coconut milk)
The desserts were fairly simple and easy, and quite similar to the ‘payasams’ we make in South India — so nothing unique in taste for me.
Last up, spring rollsThe big difference between the spring rolls commonly available in India and the ones I made was the use of rice paper
Any Far-East Asian reading this will be like: “Of course it’s rice paper!” but here in India, a lot of the Chinese food isn’t the least bit authentic. So instead of rice paper, a lot of them use wrappings made of wheat or maize dough. The crispness you get from using rice paper makes it taste all the better!
With each of our 5 dishes done, we sat around our table one last time for evening tea and had a bit of what we had cooked last. I say a ‘bit’ because most of us were full from our lunch not too long ago, and so we packed up our dishes for later consumption.
We were done with all our cooking by 3pmSigh, what a life
As it neared 4pm, we left the farm and made our way back to Chiang Mai. Nattaya told the driver to stop on the way and show me where the Mae Jo celebrations would be, because apparently it was close by from here.
Fifteen minutes later, we reach a junction and Nattaya along with the driver got down to show me where the Mae Jo celebrations will be held tonight!
That’s where I needed to go
I asked the driver what time the event would be and he told me it would be around 7pm onwards.
The main highway leading into Chiang Mai city
I got dropped back at Rux Thai at around 5pm. I had the bike I rented yesterday returned to the travel agent. I contemplated keeping it for one more day so that I could ride to Mae Jo on it but considering the distance, I didn’t want to risk losing my way in the dark.
I freshened up, re-packed my bag with all my camera equipment and quickly made my way out again. This was the main event, what I came for! I wasn’t going to miss it!
I hired a tuk tuk who offered to wait there at Mae Jo and then drop me back, all for 500 baht.
As it neared 6pm, traffic was slowly starting to pile up
It seemed as though everybody was on their way to Mae Jo
The road leading up the ground was jammedTook over half an hour to get to the end of this stretch
By the time I did reach the parking area, I got down and stored the driver’s number. He told me he would find a spot to park and asked to call just as I’m on my way back out.
It didn’t look like a major site where thousands had gathered to release lanternsIt was pitch dark with no street lightsBut I just followed the crowd assuming everybody was heading to the same placeIt looked like I had a bit to walkThe crowds slowly started to growFrom here on, people were lighting lanterns everywhereKrathrongs for saleLots of vehicles parked on the other sideLots of pork sausages on sale too!I stopped when a saw a large gathering of people (mostly tourists) lighting the lanterns‘Khom Loy’ is what these paper lanterns are called in ThaiYou get fairly cute varieties of lanterns tooUnfortunately, what goes up, eventually comes burning downAnd if you have a house near these grounds, you probably dread this festival every yearI moved along further down the road in search of the temple groundsSome will get stuck on a treeThe tourist crowds just kept getting biggerIt was a perfect full moon night in Chiang MaiSome people attach firecrackers to the lanternsIf I wasn’t distracted by the lanterns in the sky, I would be with all the food on the ground
I kept moving forward
An attempt by a group of tourists to attach and send many up at the same time… not always successful 🙂This one didn’t even make it off the ground
If it isn’t trees……it’s an electric lineSwitched to the 70-200 lens for a bitThe clarity you get out of this lens is simply amazing
Yum
Soon after I took this photo, and just I was starting to move further, I heard a large crowd cheer in the distance. Everybody looks up…
…thousands of lanterns in the sky!
They released it!!
I couldn’t believe it, I missed it!
I start to run, but so do the others… all of us eventually stalling at a point where there were just too many people. I knew I had to capture something, so I quickly swapped my 70-200 for the wide angle lens!
Waited months for this moment… and I couldn’t be there early enough 🙁I couldn’t shoot in auto-focus, so I shot in manual — in such a rushed state of mindIn the few seconds I had before the lanterns were out of sight, I tried clicking as many as I could
I forced my way through the crowds, through the sides, apologizing and excusing myself along the way.
I was desperate to get in to the main grounds no matter what, hoping there would be another launch soon after.
“Jellyfish in the sky”I finally managed to get into the site of the launchBut it was a lost cause. It was over.
I was gutted!
So as the many inside stood smiling, content with what they were a part of, I stood there glum. Disappointed and upset. The frustrating part was that I was so close! Had I walked 5 minutes earlier, I could have made it to the main grounds just in time for the big release.
But it was all over. Everybody was on their way out, and there wasn’t anything else for me to do besides join them.
But getting all the way back was going to take some timeThere were over 20,000 people here
As I walked past the spots I spent watching people light their lanterns, I couldn’t help but feel even more frustrated at having spent too much time clicking them.
I even met tourists and other other photographers who invited me to join them. It looked like so much fun, and I was very keen to join them… but I told them I wanted to ‘head on’.
But as Yi Peng celebrations officially began, I was in no mood for any fun
It took me nearly 40 minutes to slowly walk all the way back my tuk tuk. As soon as the driver saw me, he asked me in his broken English, gesturing with his hands whether I saw the big release and got good photos. I shrugged, and said: “Hmmm…”
It was going to be another long journey back
I came wearing just shorts and a tee, because it was quite hot during the day. But the journey back proved to be rather chilly since I was in a rickshaw, and I tried my best to avoid getting cold.
I asked the tuk tuk driver to drop me near Ping River
The events at Mae Jo kicked off Loi Krathong celebrations in Chiang Mai.
The next two days will see Ping river filled with krathongs
The river banks on either side were brim with people
(That is a camera’s flash and a firework going off at the same time)
As people flocked to Ping river, I headed the other way, back to my room.
Today was a long day. One that started with high hopes and sadly for me, ended on quite a low. To add insult to injury, I could feel my body start to heat up a bit and I feared it was due to the cold breeze I had to endure on the ride back from Sansai. The thought of falling sick lowered my spirits further.
For dinner, I had the left over spring rolls and the banana dessert I made during the cooking class. I was in no mood to eat something better. Took a hot bath and went to bed, disappointed.
P.S: For those who are wondering why it was such a the BIG freakin’ deal for me to not be a part of the launch of thousands of lanterns from the Lanna Dhutanka temple, watch this video (preferably in HD). The ‘moment’ starts at 1:46.
I arrived in Chiang Mai bus station at around 7am and took a taxi to get to Rux Thai Guesthouse which cost ฿80 (Rs. 118/$2.6/€1.8). Rux Thai is a place I stayed last year as well. It’s located just off Loi Kroh road, which is essentially Chiang Mai’s tourist-filled area with the Thapae Gate at one-end and Ping River at the other.
Since I was going to be spending 3 to 4 nights, they gave me a room I requested on the ground floor (because they don’t have a lift) for ฿450 as supposed to the rack rate of ฿490 (Rs. 700/$16/€11) — which includes Wi-Fi. No breakfast included, but they have a restaurant on the ground floor which offers a decent menu at reasonable prices.
American breakfast costs ฿90 (Rs.133/$3/€2)
After a hot shower, I took a nap as I barely got any sleep in the bus (as is the norm for me in any bus journey). I got up as it neared lunch time, unpacked and took out all the camera equipment I had bought.
Credit card abuse for 2010
Though I did test out the Canon 70-200mm f2.8 lens and the tripod before I purchased them, I didn’t get to play around with them as much as I wanted.
The tripod & ball head can easily handle the weight of the Canon 7D and the lensMy first shot with the Canon 70-200
I loaded the equipment into my backpack and left the room at around 2pm.
This is Loikroh Lane 1 Road
Other budget hotels on this lane are Centerplace Guesthouse, where you get single rooms starting from 200 baht onwards. Vipa House (the one with yellow board pictured above) is right next to Centerplace and is priced about the same as Rux Thai. (Maybe I should check out Vipa next time).
Though there was a cookery class near Rux Thai, I had already booked myself into another cooking class (which was one of the things I would be doing in Chiang Mai).
I crossed Loi Kroh road and walked pointlessly through the alleyways on the other side.
Lazing in the afternoonWat Saen Fang (‘wat’ is Thai for ‘temple’)
You can rent theseBut the more sexy the bike looks, the more expensive they are to rentI walked all the way around and got to Kotchasarn Road
I chose to eat lunch at the same cosy small eatery I ate at last year.
Run by a mother and daughter duoIt’s inexpensive and the food is goodSpicy prawns and calamari with rice, ฿40 (Rs. 60/$1.3/€1)
After lunch, I rented a moped from the travel agent in front of Vipa House and decided to go on a drive around Chiang Mai.
I highly doubt itI parked on the other side to click a few photos
The poster (I’m guessing) was confirming that Loy Krathong celebrations were definitely November 20th to 22nd this year
Though, I did ask around to find out when exactly the release of the hundreds of lanterns at once was going to be. From research online, I did learn that the event was something that is held at some University grounds at a place called Mae Jo, but when I asked the people at Rux Thai, they weren’t sure about anything. (Communication is a bit of an issue in Thailand, despite how touristy this country is)
Chiang Mai gate
They had floats in the canals which children were riding and jumping off of
I got back on my bike and moved on
I planned to ride up Doi Suthep on the outskirts of the city, which wasn’t too far away. The route is quite simple really, plus I had done last year. Chiang Mai city isn’t as complex as say, Bangkok. As I got towards the road leading up to Doi Suthep hill, I stopped again to take photographs.
The name of this place? Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University (try saying that fast)
I wanted to drive up the hill as I loved the ride last year. I wasn’t planning to drive all the way up to the temple, just up until the last view point before the temple.
Stopped at a small temple on the way
There’s a small waterfall up here
Doi Suthep is very popular among speed cyclistsBikers, cars, superbikes… you’ll see everybody enjoying the rideThis was my ride (฿200 for 24 hours)It was starting to get darkPanorama comprised of 10 shots
It was at this hairpin bend that the viewpoint was located.
You can’t actually see the sun set from this side
I set up the tripod because I knew I would be pitch dark soon.
It was a full moonShot at 200mm & cropped
As it neared 7pm, I packed up and left the viewpoint. I drove back down and this time, I took my jacket with me… because last year, I froze! 🙂
Once back in the city, I parked on the side when I saw some beautiful decorations in front of Saun Dok Gate .
I headed back to Loi Kroh road.
After parking the bike in front of the hotel, I stepped out again, this time choosing to go by foot.
Walked down Loi Kroh roadIf you want your 5-star fix, there is Le MeridienAt the end of Loi Kroh is Changklan roadPlenty of restaurants, hotels and stores here
I walked to Chiang Mai’s night bazaarPlenty of good seafood restaurants here
The night market sells the usual gamut of clothing, accessories and home decor
I wasn’t hungry and wanted to know where all the major Yi Peng celebrations in Chiang Mai would be. I was told that the major gathering point would be along Ping River.
I walked away from the bustling crowds near the night marketI could already see lanterns in the skyI ended up taking a turn back to a main roadTo be frank, after 15 minutes of walking, I didn’t know where I wasPing Nakara Boutique Hotel & spaWalked towards this big templeI was bored of walking, so I went in
Devotees were slowly trickling in to the temple to float Krathongs
As I walked out, I saw a ‘roti’ vendor on the way out and decided to eat something as it was getting late.
‘Roti’ in Thailand is commonly referred to sweet pancake batter filled with banana and other fillings
As I walked back, I realized I took a much longer route as the temple itself was not to far from the night market.
I just needed to walk through the food court and come out the other end
I walked to the bridges over Ping River
Loi Krathong celebrations had already begun… for someFirecrackers are very much a part of the celebrationsI went from one bridge to anotherThere are several bridges all along Ping River
Chiang Mai’s youth were all out to enjoy the festivitiesLined all along the streets snacking, singing and having a few beers with their friends
The banks of Ping river saw its share of revelers tooMoved to another bridge
No surprises there
Flowers, lots of flowersThe markets were still bustling at this timeHad to get down to ground level for a closer lookSwitched to the Tamron 28-75 f2.8 lens for the next few shots
These are ‘krathongs’The base is made using a thick slice of banana plant stem
The Frenchman in the above photo and I got talking, though I don’t remember how the conversation got started. Maybe I was wearing my ‘It’s Football, Not Soccer‘ t-shirt which has my website’s logo at the back and so he gave me his blog’s domain as well.
That is a *lot* of slain pigs
Paper lanterns on sale (prices ranges from ฿20 to ฿60 depending on size)
I called it a night after this and headed back to my room.
Can’t wait to see what the city has in store the next three days
I had my dinner from a rather nice joint on the same lane as Rux Thai. Lovely pork spring rolls and a can of beer (came to ฿200). I hit the sack early because I needed more sleep. Tomorrow was going to be any early morning, for I had to get ready to learn how to make Thai curry!
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.
