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paper lanterns

Loy Krathong: Yeepeng Lanna in Chiang Mai – A second chance to do it right

By Mithun Divakaran
/
Dec 10, 2012
/
Chiang Mai, Thailand, Travel

Date 24th November 2012

For those who have been following my website since 2010 – or have landed on my website when searching for information on Loi Krathong in Thailand – you must have read about how disappointing my 2010 attempt to capture the Yeepeng Lanna festival was. Long story short, I got confirmation when and where the event was taking place but by the time I got to the venue, I missed the big release of lanterns by a matter of minutes!

I was gutted the remainder of the night and vowed I would go back to do it right the next time. I wanted to go to Thailand in 2011, but last year’s floods ruined my plans. This year, I could wait no more. I had plenty of good reasons to go to Thailand and I did.

Even though I had a friend for company, I made no compromises about getting to the venue early this time. As soon as we were done with lunch, we found a tuk-tuk driver willing to take us to Maejo University and back for 600 baht. In 2010 I paid 500 baht, so 600 baht for both of us sounded like a good deal. Plus our driver spoke fairly good English – something of a rarity in Thailand. We felt comfortable knowing everything was going smooth so far. (Yeah, wait till you read how it all ended!)

Chiang Mai highway to San Sai Maejo — The weather seemed great and the highway leading to Maejo University was easy on the traffic

Inside Maejo University Chiang Mai — Our driver told us it was the first time in over 20 years that he was entering Maejo University. For which there was no need to, because I knew from last year’s visit there was an alternate road to take.

After getting directions from the university staff, we reached the same point where I was dropped off last time. It all came back to me now — how I walked for at least a kilometre before reaching the actual grounds where the event was taking place.

Way to Yee Peng Lanna venue Maejo — People were setting up their stalls to sell paper lanterns, food and drinks

But this time, we drove down the same road and found parking right next to the main grounds! It was just past 2pm and we were really early. I was happy though. I knew I was safe inside and sure to witness the big release of lanterns this time!

Our tuk tuk driver said he would wait for us until evening and told us he was just going to go out for lunch. But we knew he was leaving the venue to go about his business of picking up other passengers. Who cares, as long as he came back for us. We hadn’t paid him yet.

Yeepeng Lanna Maejo afternoon — We weren’t the only ones who arrived early. Many other tourists – mostly Chinese and Japanese, some locals and volunteers were milling about. (The above photos were all taken on the phone)

Yeepeng Lanna ceremony Thai girls — There was some ceremony going on

Pretty Thai girl Chiang Mai — More of a photo-op for us

Yeepeng Lanna opening ceremony Chiang Mai — The boys had a showing too

Maejo grounds lamps for Yeepeng Lanna — Once that was over, we moved to the actual grounds nearby

Lamps covered Yeepeng Lanna Chiang Mai — These are the lamps that would be used to light the ‘khom loys’ or paper lanterns

Yeepeng Lanna lamps lines panorama — And the whole ground was full of them!

Lamp lines Maejo grounds panorama — My friend Ramesh and I found ourselves a small tree under which we could take respite from the sun

Buddha podium Yeepeng Lanna Chiang Mai venue — That’s the podium on which Buddhist monks would be chanting prayers before the actual release

Chiang Mai lamps for Yeepeng Lanna festival — I walked up to the center of the grounds

Yeepeng Lanna venue setup Chiang Mai — I guess the carpet is for the many ceremonies that lead up to the big lantern release

Chiang Mai happy tour Yeepeng Lanna — But walking around, I noticed most of the sections were blocked by tour groups. As if they reserved sections for whoever paid to be here.

Tree shade bags Yeepeng Lanna Chiang Mai — Our bags were cooling off in the shade

Hall Yeepeng Lanna Chiang Mai — I decided to drink as much water, juices and then go to the toilet beforehand

Maejo Yeepeng Lanna hall Chiang Mai — There was some ceremony going on inside which we weren’t allowed to photograph

Yeepeng Lanna volunteers greeting visitors — They had volunteers greeting visitors in both Thai and English

I drank a lot of ice cold water and went to the restroom because henceforth I wasn’t moving away from my spot.

Camera men Yeepeng Lanna — A lot of video cameras and DSLRs were setup well in advance to secure the best viewing point

Camera men Yeepeng Lanna Chiang Mai — A LOT of cameras!

Yeepeng Lanna venue Maejo Chiang Mai — This whole venue is going to be full of people lighting paper lanterns

Sirui tripod Yeepeng Lanna Chiang Mai — I set up my tripod and made test shots of all the possible viewing angles

Tourists Yeepeng Lanna Chiang Mai — Everyone took respite from the sun under the shade of the trees

Maejo grounds crowd panorama — Slowly but surely the crowds were making their way in

Tourists Khom Loy lanterns Yeepeng Lanna Chiang Mai — People carried their *khom loys* which were sold at the venue for 100 baht each

LCMT tour Yeepeng Lanna Chiang Mai — Tour groups were trying to get their people together

Yeepeng Lanna big paper lanterns — I guess you get your lantern ready if you already paid to come here with a tour group

Power paraglider Chiang Mai Thailand — Look up in the sky! Is it a bird? A plane? Kind of… this paraglider was surveying the grounds from up above. Imagine the view of the lanterns he was going to get from up there!

Man on top of light tower Chiang Mai — This guy’s spot isn’t too bad either 🙂

Full moon Chiang Mai Thailand — It was a full moon night, a factor based on which they set dates for this festival

Paraglider Chiang Mai Loi Krathong — The paraglider was still doing the rounds while paper lanterns made their way up. What a perspective he must have got!

Yeepeng Lanna crowds gathering — As the sun was setting, the crowds were growing

Yeepeng Lanna venue night Chiang Mai — The venue was full and by 6:30pm people were getting the urge to start lighting lanterns, despite constant announcements asking everyone to refrain from doing so

Yeepeng Lanna buddhist ceremony — By 7pm, we were well into the many ceremonies that precede the release of the lanterns

Buddhist monks stage Loi Krathong Thailand — The monks chanted prayers which were followed by traditional songs and performances

Thais meditating Chiang Mai — Thais around me were deep in meditation and chanting along

Buddhist monks Yeepeng Lanna Chiang Mai — But I couldn’t get a good sight of all that from where we were standing as it all happened in the center of the grounds – sections all reserved for guests and VIPs

Man hair strands silhouette — It was hard trying to get clear shots because there would always be some head obstructing my view. But I made the most of it. Love the 70-200mm lens! 🙂

Maejo night lanterns Yeepeng Lanna — This is a long exposure panorama comprised of 4 shots tried with as little shake as possible

Smoke Yeepeng Lanna Chiang Mai — They lit some firecracker… or something

Lamp fire Yeepeng Lanna Chiang Mai — After all the ceremonial activities were over, the announcement was made to light the lamps

Lamp fire Chinese tourists Yeepeng Lanna — But everyone was instructed not to light the lanterns yet

Sadly the instructions were only in Thai and English, meaning some Chinese and Japanese around me couldn’t wait to light up.

Yeepeng Lanna Loy Krathong Chiang Mai — And so it began

Lamp fire close-up Chiang Mai Thailand — Myself and Ramesh decided we would light lanterns after the big release. Until then our focus was capturing photos and videos.

Thai light lantern Loi Krathong Chiang Mai — It’s not easy to light up such a huge paper lantern *and* try to take photos at the same time

Releasing lantern Loi Krathong Chiang Mai — And despite repeated announcements not to release the lanterns yet… there’s only so long one can hold on to it once it fills up with hot air

Thai family lantern Yeepeng Lanna Chiang Mai — This Thai man giving us the thumbs up was overly joyous and talkative to us asking us where we’re from and what we were doing in Thailand. Nice chap 🙂

Releasing paper lanterns Yeepeng Lanna Chiang Mai — Lanterns were going up even before the main announcement

Paper lanterns Loy Krathong Chiang Mai — People near to us were still getting their lanterns ready

Khom Loy Yeepeng Lanna Chiang Mai — These *khom loys* are massive!

People releasing paper lanterns — I was getting a bit worried the lack of co-ordination was going to ruin the big lantern release

Lanterns night sky Chiang Mai — I mean, the whole beauty of Yeepeng Lanna is seeing thousands of lanterns go up at the same time

Lighting lanterns Chiang Mai Thailand — He was happy to let go, but I prayed the others would wait

Paper lanterns floating Chiang Mai Thailand — But then…

Khom Loy Yeepeng Lanna Chiang Mai Thailand — OH. MY…

Lanterns Yeepeng Lanna Chiang Mai Thailand — … !!!!! 😀

All around were just screams of joy and exhales of utter amazement! Even Ramesh and I were going: “Oh man, oh man… oh oh-ho-ho!” Really… there are no words to describe how you feel at that very moment you see it. It’s a visual-sensory overload! Even though I was shooting at my widest, no camera can capture the sheer scale of the what the night sky looks at that moment. Your eyes are the only best tool.

I immediately then tried to try an capture a panorama comprised of multiple shots. I never once thought how the end result would look… I just clicked-clicked-clicked-clicked.

Yeepeng Lanna Chiang Mai big lantern release — And this is the best I could put together

I had to piece together the above 4 shots (out of 6) manually as no photo-stitching software (including Photoshop’s otherwise impressive Photomerge) could find common links between each photo. Here’s a larger version.

Lanterns floating away Loi Krathong — The lanterns were floating right over me. Guess that’s the way the wind was blowing.

Lanterns floating night sky Chiang Mai — I took this vertically to get as many lanterns as possible

Lanterns night sky Chiang Mai Thailand — It was amazing to see just how quick these lanterns float away out of sight

Paper lanterns rising up Thailand — People were still lighting up lanterns

Lanterns floating away Chiang Mai — And just like that… into the distance

Yeepeng Lanna festival Chiang Mai — Another panorama I had to manually piece together

Yeepeng Lanna crowd lanterns Chiang Mai — Another manual panorama stitch comprised of 4 shots

Yeepeng Lanna trees lanterns Chiang Mai — Wonder where these lanterns eventually drop to

Lantern festival Chiang Mai Thailand — Another panorama manually pieced together from 5 shots

Lantern festival Thailand — I knew back in 2010 itself just how tough this festival is to capture on camera. One, it’s dark, and two, you’re trying to capture moving objects in low light.

Paper lantern festival Chiang Mai Thailand — I shot in Manual Focus mode because keeping it in Auto Focus meant the focusing would be slow (my wide angle is the Canon 10-22mm f3.5). Although I had the Tamron 28-75mm f2.8, from experience I know how lousy its focusing is compared to the Canon. Keep in mind, most of these photos were taken at shutter speeds ranging from 1/6 to 1/20.

Lantern festival with flash — And shooting in Auto mode with flash like how many with point-and-shoot cameras were clicking meant you get photos like this. It kills the very glow of these floating lanterns.

Lantern festival crowd Chiang Mai — But just when you think the visual sensory overload is over…

Maejo lantern festival Chiang Mai — … fireworks!

Yeepeng Lanna festival fireworks — I actually took a lot of photos of the fireworks

Fireworks Yeepeng Lanna Chiang Mai lantern festival — Sadly, most of them came out blurry. I guess that’s the downside to keeping your lens on Manual Focus and getting lost in the revelry :-/ They looked fine on the LCD but it’s only when you zoom in or view them on the computer you realize: “Crap!”

With the activities slowing down at the grounds and people making their way out, Ramesh and I went up to the big hall to get an overhead view.

Maejo grounds lamps Yeepeng Lanna — We wondered what the spectacle from up here would have looked like

Fire lamps Yeepeng Lanna Chiang Mai — A team next to me were still filming video. I set up my tripod to take some longer shutter release.

Mithun Divakaran Yeepeng Lanna Chiang Mai — We took each others’ photos using the fire lamps as backgrounds

Yeepeng Lanna ground after lantern release — And that was it. We were done.

Well, done taking photos of other people having fun! Now it was our turn. We went to buy one of the big lanterns but sadly they were all sold out. We went out to the main road by the river stream to check with the vendors there.

Crowd leaving Yeepeng Lanna Chiang Mai — The stream of thousands leaving the venue meant it was going to be near impossible to walk through it all. But it did remind me of 2010 when I was one sad face walking like a zombie (in disappointment, than lacking life) after having missed the big release of lanterns.

This year though, I had a smile of my face. I captured the amazing moment the lanterns went up and now I just felt like lighting up some lanterns myself. We looked around until I finally found a big one lying unused and wasn’t torn. Ramesh found a vendor inside and bought another.

We decided to light up the bigger one first.

Ramesh Japanese girls Loi Krathong — These Japanese girls helped us light the big one as you need more than two hands to hold the lantern up — and take photos!

Ramesh Mithun Yeepeng Lanna Chiang Mai — Two or three minutes later, it was ready to float away

Mithun releasing lantern Chiang Mai — Made a wish, and then let go

Mithun Divakaran lantern Thai girl — We lit another one with this Thai girl, who was awfully kind to help us

But I later realized she was only helping us so we would finish up and leave. She was one among the many volunteers who immediately began cleaning up the venue.

Walking back, looking at all the volunteers cleaning up the grounds, putting out the lamps and clearing all the trash, I now understood why the organizers have started commercializing this festival. For over 20 years, this privately organized event grew into one of the most symbolic of Thai festivals in the eyes of many tourists. Heck, I’m sure this event is what inspired this scene in ‘Tangled‘!

Last year when they announced a separate event would be a paid event, that too with a US$100 entry fee (slashed to $80 this time), I scoffed at how greedy they had become. Of course, now they hold two – one free event and one ticketed event. But even this event had large sections of the ground cordoned off by tour groups, reserving the good spots for those who surely paid to attend this festival.

Still, I won’t blame them now. Just because it’s free for many of us, doesn’t mean there aren’t expenses. Somebody has to pay for the free ice-cold water, somebody’s got to pay for all the free plastic chairs they handed out to those who waited since afternoon. Not to mention, again, the hard-working volunteers cleaning up the entire venue and helping out with the various activities.

Will I attend this lantern festival again? Although I managed to get in early this time, I’m still not absolutely thrilled with the photos I took. I shot altogether over 440 photos today, but I only used a quarter of that for this post. Many came out blurred. I don’t entirely blame myself, because I did the best I could with my Canon 7D and 10-22mm f3.5 lens. Being surprised by the moments of amazement that took place before my very own eyes, it was hard to plan every shot. Trying to capture what your eyes see with a camera is always tricky. I would like to think had I got a full frame camera with the Canon 16-35mm f2.8 lens, I would have taken better photos. Then again… ‘shoulda, coulda, woulda’. We all have such thoughts after something has happened.

As we walked back to our waiting tuk-tuk driver, it was 8:45pm. But we were happy. Not for long though.

When we approached our driver, he had the look of displeasure on his face. He complained saying he’s been here for hours and we promised we would be out by 6pm (which we never did). I knew why he was acting this way and it soon came out. He demanded we pay 1000 baht instead of 600 baht. I refused, saying that was too much for a tuk-tuk ride. He said he would take us to the police station if we didn’t pay up. So I said “sure, go ahead” and got in.

I wasn’t afraid as this wasn’t the first time a local tried to pull this trick on me in Thailand.

Chinese tuk-tuk driver — I took his photo while we were stuck in the slow moving traffic outside the grounds

But then, strong winds started blowing. Blowing so hard it was toppling sign boards, chairs and other things off shops on the road side. Then came the loud sound of thunder. Then it began to rain. And how! It was pouring cats, dogs and any other animal you can throw at to describe a torrential downpour! Myself and Ramesh, although with a roof over out heads, were still getting wet with the heavy wind throwing water at us from all open sides. I tried to take my rain coat out of my camera bag but hesitated to move from the covering position I was in. Even opening up the rain coat was a challenge with the wet winds rendering it counter-productive even before I could use it as cover. My camera was getting wet too, so I needed to stuff that back in before it could take in any more water.

And just when you think bad weather in the midst of heavy traffic couldn’t make things any worse, our tuk tuk sputtered to a stop. Water got inside the spark plug making it hard for the driver to restart the vehicle. So yeah, we were stuck in the rain. Then the power went off all around us. Yup.

Ten minutes later, the vehicle restarted and we were off again. But given the driver had chosen to take the inner roads to hopefully skip traffic (or take us to the nearest police station), driving through puddled roads… the tuk tuk stopped again. For the same reason. We now had to wait longer. In the rain, in the dark, and with no clue where in Chiang Mai we were!

But the driver’s attitude changed by now. Although he complained of how cold he was (he was getting drenched too), the talk moved to light banter complaining about Thailand’s electricity cuts, calling it the worst in the world. We assured him there’s always India to make Thailand’s infrastructure look far superior. But as light as both our attitudes were by then, Ramesh and I couldn’t believe how our night was turning out to be. I couldn’t believe my drive back from the lantern festival could possibly make me sick again. We were shivering in the cold and prayed the tuk tuk would start again. It did, some 20 minutes later, and fortunately by then the rain had reduced to a drizzle. We asked the driver to avoid potholes and see if he could connect back to the main highway.

Funnily enough, all I kept thinking was how the rain could have possibly been caused by the development of hot air caused by the thousands of lanterns in the air from the Yeepeng Lanna grounds. It was as though god was pissed with all the fire we were sending up his way and he decided to wash us out with a massive downpour of water! But the driver told us he had heard in the weather report that there was a depression from Vietnam heading towards Thailand. Still, I think the hot air could have aggravated the rains.

Chiang Mai rain bikers — It was well past 10pm by the time we saw a highway. Ramesh could take his phone out to take this snap as I wanted some evidence of just how much it rained. Trust me, it was much worse when it began!

By the time we reached Chiang Mai city, it was 10:45pm. It took us two hours to get back, but what horrible two hours it was. We asked our driver to drop us near the Night Market as we just wanted to have some hot food before everything shut shop early because of the rains.

When it came time to pay him, we still gave him 700 baht feeling sorry for an old man shivering out at this time of the night when his wife kept calling asking him where he was.

It’s not that I have it usually, but we felt like having some rum or whiskey to warm our bodies. This was a moment when I craved hot Indian food too, and although available aplenty at the Night Market, most places were Muslim-run restaurants. Which meant we would get the food, but not the alcohol.

We just sat inside a popular restaurant and ordered everything. I desperately wanted to be done with dinner so I could run home to take a hot shower.

I wanted something hot and spicy to warm my body up but there was no Indian food on the menu. Instead, I tried Myanmar pork curry, which although tasted okay, ended up being gingery sweet. Not what I craved that night.

Done with dinner, shivering and soaking wet from head to toe, we walked back to our room and I quickly took a hot shower. It felt soooooo good.

Rux Thai twin room Chiang Mai Thailand — I tested my camera to see if everything worked fine. I know the 7D body is weather sealed, so it can handle the elements to a certain extent. But I was glad to know the lens and the motor all worked a-okay. (This is was our twin room at Rux thai Guesthouse by the way)

So that was my day. From hot and sunny in the morning, thrilling in the evening, to cold and rainy in the evening. I wasn’t even in the mood to look at the photos I took because it was well past midnight and we had a morning flight back to Bangkok where I had to attend SM Town III the next day. I had to sleep.

But I was still happy 🙂

P.S: Here’s a video Ramesh took when the lanterns were released into the air:

My 2010 Loi Krathong in Chiang Mai posts:

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

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

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

Yi Peng Chiang Mai big lanterns buddhists

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

By Mithun Divakaran
/
Jun 03, 2011
/
Chiang Mai, Thailand, Travel

Date: 21st November 2010

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.

Loikroh road Yi Peng deserted look Chiang Mai — Lo Kroh looked deserted

Loi Kroh road bars Yi Peng decorations Chiang Mai — Many 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.

Thapae gate canal parking Chiang mai Thailand — Didn’t seem like much

Thapai gate food shawarma stall lady — Guess that takes care of dinner for tonight

Mr Salmon sushi street food Chiang Mai Thailand — Cheap sushi

I walked a bit further, and things had started to ‘brighten’ up.

Chiang Mai Thapae gate Loy Krathong decoration — This wasn’t the only decoration Thapae gate got

Thapae gate colourful lanterns display Yi Peng festival — 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.

Chiang Mai Thapae lanterns celebrations Mithun Divakaran — After being asked by some Taiwanese woman to take a few photos of her, I asked her to return the favour

Loy Krathong beauty contest stage Thapae gate Chiang Mai Thailand — They had a stage set up for some function

Chiang Mai Loy Krathong crowds Ratchadamnoen road — I crossed the road and walked to the other side, hoping to explore more

Chiang Mai Loy Krathong street shops lamps — Plenty of stalls set up everywhere

Chiang Mai Ratchadamnoen road crowd Loi Krathong — This is Ratchadamnoen road

Wat temple entrance Chiang Mai Loy Krathong — I entered this place out of curiosity

Baked chicken Thai herbs vendor Chiang Mai — Okay fine, it was the food!

Wat temple Chiang Mai Anthony Bourdain Yi Peng — Hey, it’s Anthony Bourdain!?*

Chiang Mai Wat Yi Peng street food eating outside — You can never go hungry in Thailand

Barbecued meat street food Chiang Mai Thailand — Unless you are strictly vegetarian

Wat Chiang Mai worship praying Thailand — Even though this was a temple…

Thai banana leaf omlette grilled Chiang Mai vendor — … 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.

Chiang Mai Loi Krathong crowds Ratchadamnoen road — Still, I walked on

Wat Phan entrance Chiang Mai Thailand — Steeped into another temple on Ratchadamnoen road

Wat Phan prayer hall Chiang Mai Thailand — Though I forgot to note down the name of the temple

Wat Phan shopping Chiang Mai Thailand — More stalls inside here as well

Wat Phan tourists eating Chiang Mai Thailand — Lots of eating here too

Wat Phan huge gong Chiang Mai Thailand — I was sooo tempted to bang it

Chiang Mai Loy Krathong parade start Ratchadamnoen road — I got back out to Ratchadamnoen road

Chiangmai Loy Krathong parade Ratchadamnoen road — Then I saw this…

Chiang Mai Yi Peng parade start Ratchadamnoen road — … and it looked like a parade…

Loi Krathong Saturday parade Chiang Mai men — …which looked quite, grand

Here’s part one of the videos I took of the parade:

Loy Krathong grand parade farm float- Chiang Mai Thailand — I take it the floats were showcasing Thailand’s culture from across all provinces

Loy Krathong grand parade college Chiang Mai Thailand — And I also take it these participating groups were colleges, schools, and other establishments

Chiang Mai light man weird street artist Thailand — This guy wasn’t part of the parade… but was getting a lot of attention anyway

Here’s part two video of the parade:

Chiang Mai Loy Krathong Wat alley lanterns Thais — Walked this alley out of curiosity

More celebrations awaited me inside.

Chiang Mai Loy Krathong fireworks night sky — Lanterns from below joining the fireworks in the sky

Chiang Mai Loi Krathong Wat Tung Yu priest lighting lantern — Now it were the monks who wanted to light a big one

Chiang Mai Loi Krathong temple huge paper lantern — A really big one

Chiang Mai Loi Krathong Wat Tung Yu lighting big paper lantern — You obviously cannot use matchsticks to light a lantern this big

Chiang Mai Loi Krathong Wat Tung Yu lighting paper lantern waiting — Wait for it to heat up inside

Chiang Mai Loi Krathong buddhist priests releasing paper lantern — Okay, everybody’s waiting… just let go of it already!

Chiang Mai Loi Krathong Wat Tung Yu paper lantern with firecrackers — And it’s up

Chiang Mai Wat Tung Yu people leaving — I left

Chiang Mai full moon night sky lanterns — Near Rux Thai, this was the sight

Chiang Mai Thapae gate crowds gathered — Walked back to Thapae Gate

Chiang Mai Thapae gate Loi Krathong beauty contest — There was a beauty contest going on

Chiang Mai Loi Krathong beauty contest audience — Packed audience too

Chiang Mai Loy Krathong beauty contest — Switched to the 70-200mm lens for a closer look

Chiang Mai Thapae gate photographers 70-200 canon lens — I wasn’t the only one

Chiang Mai Miss Loy Krathong beauty contest — A rather ‘traditional’ looking beauty contest

Chiang Mai Miss Loy Krathong beauty contest judges Thailand — The judges-slash-sponsors

Chiang Mai Miss Loy Krathong beauty contest women — Just before the winner is announced, the women get the ‘God-I-hope-that-b***h-doesn’t-win!’-look

Chiang Mai Miss Loy Krathong beauty contest award — The winner

Chiang Mai Miss Loy Krathong beauty contest prize Thailand — She gets a placard…

Chiang Mai Miss Loy Krathong beauty contest winner — …which says something in Thai

Chiang Mai Miss Loy Krathong beauty contes Wai Wai runnerup — The runner-ups get a month’s supply of instant noodles*

Chiang Mai Thapae gate Yi Peng celebrations lanterns — Lanterns were still floating up

Chiang Mai Loy Krathong Thapae stage lantern — The stage cleared. I didn’t wait to see what was next.

Thapae road bars Yi Peng bursting crackers — I walked on down to Thapae Road next

As I walked along, I saw a large crowd gather around someone.

Chiang Mai amazing street footballer Thailand — Everybody was watching this guy

Chiang Mai street footballer Thailand — He was mighty impressive

So I decided to take a video:

I tipped him 10 baht and continued down the road.

Chiang Mai street guitarist Thailand — There were a few other street performers as well

Wat Buppharam Chiang Mai Yi Peng fireworks — Lots of fireworks today… which is always nice

Wat Buppharam Chiang Mai Indian emblem four lions — Hey, those lion statues resemble the official emblem of India!

Curious as to what the possible ‘Indian connection’ could be, I went inside Wat Buppharam.

Wat Buppharam Chiang Mai Buddha statue worship — Looked like just another Buddhist temple to me

I got back out to Thapae Road and made my way towards Nawarat bridge.

Thapae road camera man Loi Krathong — Lots of media

Thapae gate grand parade float lights — The parade was still on

Tapae road to Nawarat bridge Yi Peng crowds — It was crowded!

Chiang Mai Yi Peng rock concert — They had a stage set up… sadly for the band, very few were watching

Chiang Mai condom safe sex aids awareness Thailand — Volunteers in condom costumes distributed free condoms and promoted AIDS awareness

Chiang Mai Nawarat bridge Yi Peng crowded — The people on Nawarat bridge

Mae ping river Loy Krathong devotees — Many devotees releasing krathongs into Ping river

Mae ping river Loi Krathong river thieves — And 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’.

Chiang Mai Nawarat bridge Yi Peng khomloys city — 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!”

Chiang Mai bridge light bulbs — I moved to another bridge

Praisanee road grand parade Loy Krathong — The parade was at the end of its run

Krathongs for sale Maeping river Chiang Mai — Krathongs and khomloys (paper lanterns) for sale

Chiang Mai steps to Maeping river — I walked down these steps

Rim Ping hotel Loy Krathong firework — Plenty of fireworks soon went off near Rim Ping Hotel

Rim Ping hotel Loy Krathong Chiang Mai firework — Kinda looks like the Death Star doesn’t it? 🙂

Ping river Loykrathong devotees Chiang Mai — Ping river was packed with devotees

Chiang Mai Maeping river big floats — And a few big floats

Praisanee road roundabout Chiang Mai — I walked towards the Chiang Mai Municipality building

Chiang Mai municipal hall Yi Peng function — Cultural shows were going on

Chiang Mai Thai woman makeup geisha — One of the performers; dressed very geisha-like

Chiang Mai US embassy wall paintings — These paintings were on the walls of the US Consulate

Chiang Mai Thai cream pancake street vendor — I was starting to get hungry at this point

Chiang Mai flower shop display — Lots of flowers today as well

Chiang Mai roses red flowers wrapped newspaper — Not sure if these were roses

Praisanee road Chiang Mai Chinese temple — Some temple near the market

Praisanee road Loy Krathong locals celebrating — It was nearing midnight, time to head back to the room

Loy Krathong Loy Kroh road at night — Celebrations on Loy Kroh road were timid at best

Indian kitchen Pakistani food Chiang Mai Thailand — As 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.

Hope it gets better tomorrow!

* No, not really

Next posts in this series:

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

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

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 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

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

By Mithun Divakaran
/
May 25, 2011
/
Chiang Mai, Thailand, Travel

Date: 20th November 2010

At 9am, I got picked up by a songthaew from The Chiang Mai Thai Farm Cooking School, the cooking class I had signed up for.

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.

Chiang Mai songthaew ride — 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.

Chiang Mai Nattaya Phothaphun Thai Farm cooking class guide — 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.

Chiang Mai market cooking class guide rice varieties — Nattaya explaining us the varieties of rice

Chiang Mai market Thai green red curry paste — Ready-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.

Chiang Mai sweet dumplings — Sweet dumplings

Chiang Mai market fresh food — How they are made

Chiang Mai meat market plastic bag fans — I was amused by the fans they used — plastic bags with meat & bones in them as the fan blades

Chiang Mai fish market seafood — Despite being in land-locked North Thailand, you still get good seafood in Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai market pink eggs — Upon web research, these pink eggs are preserved eggs apparently

We re-grouped and left for the cooling class farm.

Getting to Thai farm cooking class Chiang Mai — The journey takes around 45 minutes from Chiang Mai city

Once at the farm, we were given a brief tour of the surroundings.

Thai Farm cooking class Chiang Mai group — Two group classes are taken every day (while the cat, just sleeps)

Thai farm cooking class Chiang Mai setup — Nattaya setting up our ‘kitchen’

Thai Farm Cooking class Nattaya how to wash rice — Nattaya first explained to us how to wash rice

Thai Farm Cooking class Nattaya washing rice — She was washing the rice in the steam basket itself

Thai Farm Cooking class making rice — 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.

Thai farm cooking class Chiang Mai plant — Sorry, don’t remember what this plant was but all I remember is that it’s an important ingredient in Thai cooking

Thai farm cooking class table Chiang Mai Thailand — We all get individual tables of course

Thai Farm Cooking class Mithun Divakaran — …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).

Thai Farm cooking class getting started — All ready to chop up and mash

Thai Farm cooking class grinding stone — The 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!

Thai Farm cooking class chicken green curry ingredients — First up for me, Thai green curry (chicken)

I followed Nattaya’s instructions and 25 minutes later…

Thai farm cooking class chicken green curry Chiang Mai — It wasn’t bad I say 😉

Thai farm cooking class Tom Yam soup ingredients — 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!

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.

Thai farm cooking class Chiang Mai panorama — Panorama comprised of 10 shots

Thai farm cooking class Chiang Mai lazy sleepy cat — 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.

Thai farm cooking class bananas coconut milk — 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.

Thai farm cooking class spring rolls ingredients — Last up, spring rolls

Thai farm cooking class Chiang Mai rice paper — The 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.

Thai farm cooking class Chiang Mai washing area — We were done with all our cooking by 3pm

Thai farm cooking class Chiang Mai cat sleeping rocks — Sigh, 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!

Way to Mae Jo university grounds — 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.

Chiang Mai highway 1001 Thailand — 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.

Chiang Mai highway to Mae Jo traffic — As it neared 6pm, traffic was slowly starting to pile up

Chiang Mai highway to Maejo cars — It seemed as though everybody was on their way to Mae Jo

Traffic jam Maejo Loi Krathong Yi Peng festival tourists — The road leading up the ground was jammed

Traffic jam Maejo Loi Krathong Yi Peng festival — Took 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.

Maejo sausage stand Sansai grounds — It didn’t look like a major site where thousands had gathered to release lanterns

Maejo Sansai way to Yee Peng celebrations ground — It was pitch dark with no street lights

Thai crowd walking to Maejo grounds — But I just followed the crowd assuming everybody was heading to the same place

Mae Jo lanterns in sky crowd — It looked like I had a bit to walk

Maejo Khom Loy for sale — The crowds slowly started to grow

Mae Jo Sansai boys Khomloy lanterns Loi Krathong — From here on, people were lighting lanterns everywhere

Maejo Sansai krathongs for sale — Krathrongs for sale

Maejo sansai Loi Krathong grounds parking — Lots of vehicles parked on the other side

Maejo Sansai pork sausages vendor — Lots of pork sausages on sale too!

Loi Krathong Maejo grounds Khomloys crowd — I stopped when a saw a large gathering of people (mostly tourists) lighting the lanterns

Maejo sansai Loi Krathong khomloys — ‘Khom Loy’ is what these paper lanterns are called in Thai

Maejo panda khomloy lantern Yi Peng Thailand — You get fairly cute varieties of lanterns too

Maejo house roof fire khomloy burning — Unfortunately, what goes up, eventually comes burning down

Mae jo roof on fire lantern — And if you have a house near these grounds, you probably dread this festival every year

Maejo sansai tourists lanterns vendors — I moved along further down the road in search of the temple grounds

Maejo Yi Peng lanterns tree — Some will get stuck on a tree

Chiang Mai Mae Jo Loi Krathong Khomloys — The tourist crowds just kept getting bigger

Sansai Maejo Yi Peng khomloy lantern full moon night — It was a perfect full moon night in Chiang Mai

Lantern firecrackers Maejo Chiang Mai Loi Krathong Thailand — Some people attach firecrackers to the lanterns

Steamed rice cakes momos Maejo Chiang Mai — If I wasn’t distracted by the lanterns in the sky, I would be with all the food on the ground

Maejo Loi Krathong crowds towards grounds — I kept moving forward

Maejo Yi Peng burning lanterns khomloys sky — An attempt by a group of tourists to attach and send many up at the same time… not always successful 🙂

Maejo Loi Krathong crowds Thais burnt khomloy — This one didn’t even make it off the ground

Maejo lantern stuck tree Chiang Mai Loy Krathong — If it isn’t trees…

Lantern stuck electric line post Maejo Loi krathong — …it’s an electric line

Maejo Chiang Mai crowds celebrating Loi Krathong — Switched to the 70-200 lens for a bit

Lighter lantern wick Khomloy Loi Krathong — The clarity you get out of this lens is simply amazing

Donuts baked sweets vendor Maejo Thailand — 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!

Thousand lanterns khomloy at MaeJo Chiang Mai — Waited months for this moment… and I couldn’t be there early enough 🙁

Maejo lanterns Loi Krathong Chiang Mai — I couldn’t shoot in auto-focus, so I shot in manual — in such a rushed state of mind

Maejo Khomloys tree leaves shadow — In 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.

Loy Krathong Yi Peng Khom Loy lanterns — “Jellyfish in the sky”

Maejo grounds big lantern Yi Peng celebrations Chiang Mai — I finally managed to get into the site of the launch

Mae Jo Yi Peng lantern release celebrations — But 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.

Maejo grounds people leaving Yi Peng sansai river stream — But getting all the way back was going to take some time

Maejo Sansai Loi Krathong crowd leaving — There 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’.

Maejo Sansai Loi Krathong fireworks celebrations — 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…”

Leaving Maejo Sansai Yi Peng tuk tuk — 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.

Ping river bridge lit up crowds Yee Peng — 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.

Chiang Mai krathongs in Ping river — The next two days will see Ping river filled with krathongs

Yi Peng celebrations Chiang Mai Ping river steps — The river banks on either side were brim with people

Loi Krathong celebrations Chiang Mai ping river bank firework — (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.

Next posts in this series:

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

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

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

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